Senator Raffy Tulfo criticized the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for consistently going after low-income individuals and small-business owners rather than major tax evaders like oil smugglers in order to raise money for the government.
He expressed his annoyance with BIR at Monday’s Senate Finance Sub-committee A budget hearing, saying the agency has a history of focusing on Filipino workers in the lower tiers of the supply chain whenever they fall short of their collection goals.
Tulfo listed some of the low-wage workers as pedicab and tricycle drivers, market sellers, and owners of sari-sari stores.
“Tuwing gusto niyo po makakolekta ng karagdagang buwis, dahil kayo po ay nagkaroon ng shortfall dahil hindi niyo naabot ang target niyo, ang pinagiinitan ninyo palagi ay ‘yung mga maliliit nating kababayan,” he explained.
The lawmaker noted that BIR had earlier suggested mandating receipt issuance for goods or services sold for more than P25 from pedicab and tricycle drivers, market sellers, and owners of sari-sari stores.
He pointed out that beginning in 2017, the BIR had given the 123 revenue district officers nationwide instructions to begin listing “sari-sari” or variety stores and other small companies for the purpose of tax collection. Additionally, he recalled the BIR’s public admonition to vloggers to pay their taxes by 2021.
Tulfo argued that if BIR is sincere about raising significant amounts of revenue through taxation, it should instead concentrate on oil smugglers, which would enable the government to raise additional billions of pesos in state revenues.
He emphasized that BIR cannot hide under the Department of Finance’s (DOF) claim that taxes from marked fuel products were collected through customs duties totaling more than P400 billion..
If anything, according to the senator, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should first provide documentation proving that all petroleum goods marked by the BOC correspond to information from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which he said has global data identifying all companies exporting oil in the Philippines.
In spite of the government’s P1.9 billion peso yearly contract with the Swiss inspection service provider Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), which guarantees that marker is accurately added to the fuel, failure of these records to match would indicate that oil smuggling is widespread in the country.
In order to assure accuracy, Tulfo requested that Customs submit data of the alleged 1,700 gas stations that were physically inspected by the SGS every month in the preceding years.
He said BOC should submit information regarding the 1,700 gas stations’ fuel marking compliance, adding, “I wouldn’t believe you kapag sinabi ninyo na lahat, 100 percent, ay pumasa sa inspection.”
Tulfo demanded the bureau to show what penalties were applied against the gas stations that failed the inspection due to non-compliance, as well as how many of them were told to cease operations, in regard to this.
Because the supposed official in charge of overseeing fuel markings was not present, Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz was unable to give all the paperwork that Tulfo requested.
Tulfo argued that the contract between the government and SGS, which is due to expire in a year, should not be renewed. He did this by citing the terms of reference, which state that SGS must transmit the technology and underlying formula to the Philippines at the conclusion of a five-year contract.
“Ako po, bilang Chairperson ng Energy Committee, haharangin ko po ang renewal ng SGS. Because I see na useless po ito. Yung sinasabi niyo po tumaas ang koleksyon ng tax to P450-B, eh tumaas po yung presyo ng langis e, natural pag taas ng presyo ng langis, tataas yung koleksyon. hindi po ba?” he remarked.
He insisted that SGS adhere to the terms of reference so that the Philippines might annually save billions of pesos.
Photo Credit: Senate of the Philippines website