Marcos signs Ease of Paying Taxes Act into law

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 11976 or the “Ease of Paying Taxes Act” into law in a bid to boost the economy and protect taxpayer rights.

Tagged as one of the priority measures of the Marcos administration, the newly signed EOPT law supports the administration’s 8-point socioeconomic agenda through the collection of more taxes to enhance economic and social development.

“The law will modernize and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of tax administration and strengthen taxpayer rights and allow the government to capture as many taxpayers as possible into the tax net by streamlining the system and minimizing the burden on taxpayers, increasing the country’s revenue collection in the long run,” the Presidential Communications Office said.

In September 2023, the Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the bicameral conference committee report that reconciled the disagreeing provisions of their respective versions of the proposed Ease of Paying Taxes bill.

Among the highlights of the law were:

• Classification of taxpayers into micro, small, medium, and large;
• Electronic or manual filing of returns and payment taxes either to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) through any authorized agent bank or authorized tax software provider;
• Option to pay internal revenue taxes removal to the City or Municipal Treasurer; and
• Elimination of the distinction between documentation and basis of sales of goods and services; and classification of value-added tax (VAT) refund claims into low, medium, and high-risk.

The EOPT law also features ensuring availability of registration facilities to non-Philippine resident taxpayers; promoting and assisting taxpayers in tax processes, streamlining; reducing documentary requirements; and digitalizing BIR services through the development of the Ease of Paying Taxes and Digitalization Roadmap by the BIR.

It also imposes 180 days to act on claims for refund of erroneous or illegal tax collection; increases the amount from P100 to P500 for the mandatory issuance of receipts for each sale and transfer of goods and services; and reducing the number of income tax return (ITR) pages from four to two pages.

To improve the performance and efficiency of the BIR, the law also mandates the agency to adopt an integrated digitalization strategy by providing end-to-end solutions for the benefit of taxpayers.

The law will take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. — DVM, GMA Integrated News