Filipinos still have two months to file their 2021 income tax returns before the April 15 deadline, a tax lawyer said Wednesday as he reminded them of the penalties for non-filers.
The National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 states that "any person required to file tax returns but willfully fails to do so, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than P10,000 and imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than 10 years, in addition to other penalties provided by law", said the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP).
"Mas mahaba-haba na under the TRAIN law ang imprisonment kaya kailangan talaga natin mag-file ng tax return kung kailangan," tax lawyer Benedict Tugonon, former president of TMAP, told TeleRadyo.
Under the TRAIN or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, only those earning P250,000 and below annually are exempted from filing their income tax returns, he said. Minimum wage earners are also exempted from ITR filing.
Tugonon said workers whose employers deduct and remit their income tax to the BIR directly do not need to file their ITRs. It's called substitute filing, he said.
"'Pag ikaw ay talagang masigasig, marami kang employer, may sideline ka, 'pag dalawa o tatlo ang employer mo, kailangan mo mag-file ng ITR lalo na 'pag ikaw ay employee at meron kang food business sa bahay, may property na rented," he said.
"As a taxpayer myself and as a tax practioner, ang pagbabayad ng buwis ay solemn, legal, and moral obligation nating lahat so we need to do this," said Tugonon.
Filing an ITR was in the news recently after the Comelec rejected a petition to disqualify Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. from running for president for failure to file his own ITRs citing lack of merit. The petitioners said the omission amounted to "moral turpitude", a basis for disqualification.
On the Bureau of Internal Revenue's Facebook comment section, netizens asked if they too could skip filing their returns.
Tugonon urged those running for public office to help promote taxpayer education in the Philippines.
"If may plano ka magsilbi, dapat siguro magbayad ka ng taxes mo kasi para sa akin, ang officials na magde-decide paano gagastusin ang buwis natin, sila dapat ang examples natin ng tax compliance."
It's important to file your taxes on time so as to avoid penalties and trouble with the BIR. Need help in filing your income tax returns? Here's our guide.
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