BIR to process one RATE case a month

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— There is no stopping the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) here as it is set to process a minimum of one tax evasion case against those who are remiss in paying their taxes under the Run After Tax Evaders (Rate) Program.

BIR Regional Director Jethro Sabariaga said that the effort is to fully bring into the fold those who are not included in the tax net. He added that the BIR now is concentrating on individuals and professionals who have not been paying the right taxes.

This means that there will be one Rate case from the region from the various provinces it covers. Sabariaga added that one Rate case is only a minimum and more may be filed with proper cases depending on the need.

Sabariaga added that they are currently investigating some individuals and establishments in the region also for possible violations of tax laws.

Enforcement programs in the bureau like the Rate and the Oplan Kandado will continue to be implemented under his watch, he said.

Under the Rate program, individuals and establishments suspected of tax fraud are investigated, prosecuted, and convicted.

Some of the criminal tax violations covered by the Rate program include failure to file tax return, deliberate under declaration of income, non-remittance of withholding taxes, and keeping more than one set of books of accounts, among others.

Oplan Kandado goes after erring taxpayers by shutting down business operations based on specific grounds, including failure to issue VAT receipt, failure to file VAT return, understatement of VATable sales by 30 percent or more, or failure to register. The business can only be reopened upon compliance.

As for the region’s collection, Sabariaga said that there will be no luxury of relaxing on the part of BIR for it to meet targets. While BIR here is still meeting monthly targets, there is a need to double efforts to meet the whole fiscal target for the year.