BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR-CAR) warned companies using technology-based fraud to significantly reduce the taxes they will be paying to the government that they will be immediately closed once found to have used fraud in their tax compliance.
Conrad Lee, BIR-CAR regional director, said the penalty for those found using technology-based fraud in their tax compliance is closure which is similar to the penalty imposed in the agency’s Oplan Kandado that is why BIR-CAR technical personnel are undergoing rigid trainings on how to detect the use of technology-based fraud.
He claimed technology-based fraud is common in the use of Point of Sale (POS) machines installed in various business establishments because they can just change the software that will reduce the recorded sales in the said machines thereby resulting to lower taxes that will be paid by the estalishment owner to the BIR.
“We want to prevent the use of technology-based fraud as early as possible so that we will be able to get substantial tax compliance from businessmen using the POS machines in their establishments. We are currently equipping our personnel with sufficient knowledge for them to detect the use of fraud and compel the businessmen to pay the right taxes to the government,” Director Lee stressed.
The BIR-CAR official revealed there are more than 2,800 registered POS machines being used by businessmen in the different parts of the region.
According to him, the agency is after the compliance of taxpayers in paying the right taxes to the government that is why they continue to institute the necessary reforms in their tax collection efforts to go after taxpayers who continue to employ the use of fraud just for them not to pay the right taxes.
He revealed there are some software developers who offer to the businessmen using POS machines the necessary software that will result to the under declaration of their sales that is why efforts are now being done to detect the changes that the POS machines have undergone since it was purchased and use by the said establishments to check whether or not their softwares were tampered.
He expressed confidence that the BIR-CAR will be able to achieve its targeted tax collection goal which was fixed at P6.64 billion which is higher than the P5.7 billion tax collection of the agency last year.
Although the BIR-CAR is one of the smallest region in terms of tax collection, Lee explained there is still a need to sustain efforts to sustain the tax collection efficiency to compel taxpayers to pay the right taxes to the government.
Lee believes that taxpayers in the region are prompt taxpayers that is why he is optimistic that they will be able to settle their obligations with the government on time for them not to be unduly penalized by the agency.
By HENT
