BIR Cebu City Conducts Medium Taxpayers Forum

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue Region No. 13 – Cebu City headed by Regional Director Aynie Mandajoyan-Dizon conducted its Medium Taxpayers Segment (MTS) Forum to orient taxpayers and discuss issues and concerns to maximize their tax compliance.

The MTS is comprised of the top 500 taxpayers of the region.

They are technically large taxpayers without the requisite notification from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to be enlisted and classified as such large taxpayer.

The creation of the MTS in the region is largely intended to strengthen and expand the coverage of the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) of the BIR.

During its initial implementation, the project will cover the top 500 non-individual taxpayers of each of the 12 identified regions, including RR No. 13 – Cebu City.

The 6,000 taxpayers enlisted as medium taxpayers have been culled from the 30,000 large taxpayers without the requisite notification for classification as large taxpayers.

The list excludes National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs), Government Owned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

In her discussion of the compliance requirements and status of her region’s medium taxpayers, RD Mandajoyan-Dizon aired her appreciation of the medium taxpayers’ participation, including that of other taxpayers and stakeholders.

She vowed to look after their needs while monitoring their compliance, adding that the segmentation scheme is beneficial to both the BIR and the medium taxpayers as the tax agency seeks to enhance its revenue collection while the “new segment” aims to achieve better compliance and closer collaboration with the former.

The revenue region has a collection goal of PhP29.381B for 2017 with a total of 1,301,774 registered taxpayers.

The number of taxpayers enlisted as medium taxpayers is a mere 0.04% of the total number of registrants although it contributes at least 24% of the region’s total actual collections.

Tackling on the compliance of the top 500 taxpayers of the region, RD Mandajoyan-Dizon said the select group contributed PhP4.417 Billion in taxes for the period January to September 2017 as compared to the collection of PhP4.627 Billion for the same period in 2016.

The medium taxpayers contributed a total of PhP6.419 Billion in 2016, which figure accounts for 24.05% of the region’s total actual collection of PhP26.690 Billion for the same year.

Of the 500 medium taxpayers, 478 (96%) are enrolled in the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) with 22 (4%) non-enrollees.

Value Added Tax – registered medium taxpayers are required to submit Summary Lists of Sales, Purchases, and Importations (SLS/P/I).

For the year 2016, 405 submitted their SLS (50 did not comply) while 399 are SLP compliant (56 are not compliant).

Forty-five (45) medium taxpayers are non-VAT taxpayers and are as such not required to submit SLS/P/I.

RD Mandajoyan-Dizon appealed the participants to help the BIR fulfill its mandate while vowing to help them comply with their tax obligations. She ended by saying that she looks forward to a better working relationship with the medium taxpayers.

In her inspirational message, Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue (DCIR) Lanee Cui-David, who spoke in behalf of Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay, thanked everyone in the forum for responding to the invitation of the BIR.

She said the tax agency is honored and humbled by their presence considering that they really took time to participate.

She gave credit to the taxpayers for their part in the BIR’s collection efforts even as she asked them to continue supporting the BIR in collecting taxes to fund the continued existence and operations of the government. (PR)