THE recently passed Ease of Paying Taxes (EoPT) law is expected to help the government improve its revenue performance by streamlining tax compliance, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
“Hopefully, especially with this new law, we will be able to simplify tax compliance and therefore generate additional revenues for the government,” Finance Undersecretary Charlito Martin R. Mendoza told reporters on Monday.
“The taxpayers, we hope, will voluntarily comply with their tax obligations and therefore avoid tax evasion,” he added.
In January, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed into law the measure streamlining the system for paying taxes.
The EoPT law amends sections of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 and introduces various reforms to improve the user experience for taxpayers.
Separately, BIR Commissioner Romeo B. Lumagui, Jr. said the bureau is working on expediting the disposition of illicit vape products.
He said that the agency is unable to dispose of these quickly because most products are retained as evidence in court cases.
“Those with court cases, we can’t move unless our motion is granted. But those without court cases, we can,” he said.
“What we can is that from raid to filing of cases to destruction, it’s complete… it sends a serious signal,” he added.
The BIR plans to implement measures to better track excise tax payments and determine whether products are illicit or not. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson