Story and photo by Mau Victa / Correspondent
TAXES are an integral part of governance that helps provide social services to citizens. To boost the government’s revenue and tax effort in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), including the prosecution of tax evasion, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
The MOU sets forth the terms and understanding between the two agencies in forming a task force to run after tax evaders and prosecute those found violating the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended and the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines under the so-called underground economy activities.
The underground economy can be defined in a broad sense as the group of business activities conducted either legally, illegally or extra-legally for the mere purposes of subsistence. Income earned in these activities escapes the grip of the BIR.
This MOU empowers the regional government agencies to consolidate and facilitate cooperation for the collection of taxes and prevention/suppression of tax evasion under the following activities: antidummy law, small-scale mining, dollar salting and illegal foreign exchange, illegal gambling, sale of excisable products; and all other activities that may fall under the so-called underground economy.
In support of President Duterte’s advocacy to raise funds to finance the plan of the national government to ramp up the government’s infrastructure spending, the above-mentioned agencies as partners believe they should go after and focus on the illegal ones who fail to give a fair share of revenues to the state.
Image credits: Mau Victa