BIR launches MTS to collect more taxes

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

CALASIAO – To give more services to the Filipinos, the Bureau of Internal Revenue led by Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay launched recently here the Medium Taxpayer Service (MTS) to efficiently collect more taxes from the top 500 businessmen in the region.

BOSS -Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay of the Bureau of Internal Revenue poses with the officials of the agency’s Region-1 office after the Taxpayer Segmentation Forum with the top 500 businessmen in the four provinces’ Region-1 held recently at Jeck’s Convention Hall in Calasiao, Pangasinan. Photo by Mortz C. Ortigoza

Dulay earlier signed Revenue Memorandum Order 17 Series of 2017 for the creation of regional teams to improve the Bureau’s collection from the top taxpayers in their regional areas.

“So that we can become hopefully win the future which is the dream for everybody. We continue to give you the public services that you need. We are doing this gaya ng sinabi ni President Duterte lahat tayo tunay na pagbabago sa bayan,” he told the Top 500 traders in the four provinces’ Region 1 who attended the Taxpayer Segmentation Forum held recently at Jeck’s Convention Hall here.

Revenue District Office – 4 Chief Merlyn DV Vicente said that the MTS was created to monitor the taxes of the Top 500 businessmen in every region in the country.

“They are from the top 500 taxpayers from the whole region. Regional offices na ang magko cover. Mag create sila ng task force para ma monitor itong Top 500”.

She said the regional office of the agency that is also based in this town will not hire personnel to carry the task but will just include the MTS to their work.

 

The top 500 traders listen attentively as BIR officials explained the nuances of paying the taxes.

Vicente cited the revenue district offices all over the country will only give a support role to the job given primarily to the staff of the regional offices.

She said the forum here can help both the Top 500 taxpayers in paying the right taxes and the BIR on efficient collection.

One of its thrusts, Vicente cited, is strict monitoring about the revenue of the businesses of these people.

Region 1 Director Teresita M. Dizon told this paper that this year’s Region 1 target is P14. 3 billion.

Even the burgeoning economy of the nine cities and countless towns’ region, Dizon said, the agency needs to classify the tax payers based on their incomes.

“Oo naman it’s growing even doon sa regional GDP (Gross Domestic Product) natin growing naman talaga ang Pangasinan. But siguro we have to classify the (inaudible) taxpayers to pay their taxes based on their incomes”.

Dulay said that 80% of the tax collected in the country is soldiered on by the bureau.

The collection target for this year is P1.783 Trillion.

“As of September this year the BIR collected P1.3 Trillion already,” Dulay told the crowd.

The Medium Taxpayer Service is different to the Large Taxpayer Service that was introduced in year 2000.

LTS includes a corporation with an authorized capitalization of at least P300 million.