The proposal of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to lift particular provisions of the Bank Secrecy law for tax purpose has gained support from among the legislators and banking industry players.
Rep. Miro Quimbo, chairman of House Committee on Ways and Means, urged the BIR to submit a draft bill lifting secrecy provisions to Congress at the soonest possible time.
Quimbo said he will personally sponsor it and, as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, ensure the measure is immediately taken.
“We will evaluate the merits of the proposal and if we see that it is the right, fair and logical step toward tax reform, I will campaign for its approval,” he said.
“If this is the key for the BIR to cooperate on tax reform initiatives and for the BIR to finally meet its target, which it has been missing for the past 10 years, the Lower House will throw its support behind the proposed measure,” he added.
Banker’s Association of the Philippines (BAP) President and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) President and CEO Lorenzo V. Tan said the amendment must conform with global best practices and should address security issues to ensure effective banking services in the country. “Amending the Bank Secrecy law should be meant to align with global best practices, in terms of greater transparency and compliance with the Financial Action Task Force requirements and in the context of the upcoming Asean Banking Integration Framework by 2020, which requires harmonization of banking regulations among Asean member countries,” Tan told the BusinessMirror.