MANILA: Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to improve its information campaign on the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) to educate more taxpayers on the updates brought about by the EOPT Law on the country’s taxation system.

“All applications and communications with the BIR should be conducted through online channels and taxpayers should not be required to visit BIR branches in person. Further, enterprises must be allowed to use all of their existing OR (official receipt) booklets without expiration,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

He also noted the importance of ensuring that the changes brought by EOPT do not create additional costs or burdens for businesses.

“Needless to say, the BIR should ensure that the implementation of this particular provision of the law, intended to streamline issuance of proof of transactions, will not entail additional cost and burden on enterprises, especially those belonging to the micro, small and medium sector,” he said.

The regul
ations under EOPT cover the new classifications of taxpayers, simplified filing process for tax returns and payments, and lower rates for micro and small taxpayers, among others.

For instance, Revenue Regulation (RR) 4-2024 governs the filing of tax returns and tax payments, allowing electronic and manual transactions.

It also removes the civil penalty for tax returns filed at the wrong venue.

This also covers the exemption of overseas contract workers solely deriving income abroad from filing income tax returns.

Meanwhile, RR 6-2024 imposes reduced interest rates and penalties for micro and small taxpayers, and RR 8-2024 classifies taxpayers based on gross sales.

The EOPT Act is one of the priority legislations cited by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his State of the Nation Address in 2022 and 2023.

Marcos signed the EOPT Act (Republic Act 11976) into law on Jan. 5, 2024.

Source: Philippines News Agency