MALING PAGGAMIT NG LOA AT MO NG BIR SINISIYASAT

TINIYAK ni Sen. Erwin Tulfo na papanagutin ng Senate Blue Ribbon committee o Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations ang sinumang taga-Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) na nagtataksil sa kanilang sinumpaang tungkulin na magsilbi nang may integridad.

“Our goal here is simple: To restore trust, protect our taxpayers, and ensure that public power is never ever again used for private gain,” ani Sen. Erwin sa kanyang opening statement sa ginanap na pagdinig ukol sa mga reklamo sa diumano ay maling paggamit ng Letter of Authority (LOA) at Mission Order (M0).

“For years, small and big businesses—mula po sa maliliit na family convenience store hanggang sa malalaking korporasyon—have raised serious concerns, recently. Many claim that they were subjected not to fair tax assessment, but to pressure, intimidation, and questionable demands in exchange for the withdrawal or softening of tax investigations,” ani Sen. Erwin.

“Kahit po ang mga international companies, hindi na ninyo pinatawad, pinatos na ninyo, itong mga kompanya na ito na nagdadala ng trabaho, teknolohiya, at pamumuhunan sa bansa, ay hindi raw nakaligtas sa ganitong uri ng pang-aabuso, ayon na rin mismo yan sa iba’t-ibang foreign chambers of commerce dito sa ating bansa at mismo sa kanilang mga ambassador,” dagdag pa nito.

Binigyang-diin din ni Sen. Erwin na ,”he purpose of the Letter of Authority and Mission Order is to ensure that taxes owed to the government are collected properly, transparently, and lawfully. Hindi ito dapat gamitin bilang sandata ng pananakot o instrumento ng korapsyon. Unfortunately, only two percent of the total tax collected by the BIR from the business sector came from LOAs or Mission Orders. The 98%, ladies and gentlemen, from voluntary tax payments by the businesses. So ibig sabihin po, Mr. Chair, dalawang porsyento lamang ang pumapasok sa kaban ng bayan sa total tax collection. Yung the rest, 98%, voluntary.

Ani Sen. Erwin, ang pagdinig ay binuksan sa layong talakayin ang “misuse and abuse of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s Letters of Authority and Mission Orders—instruments that, by law, should protect the integrity of our tax system, but which have reportedly become tools for harassment, coercion, and worse, extortion.’

“Hindi ito dapat gamitin bilang sandata ng pananakot o instrumento ng korapsyon,” anang Senador kasabay ng pagpukol ng katanungang: “Where did the rest of the collection go from these instruments? E di sa bulsa ng mga examiner, RDOs at Regional Directors. Ganito po ang modus: 25 percent lang ng koleksyon kasi napupunta sa gobyerno yung may resibo, while the 75 percent goes straight to their pockets.”

“If these allegations are true, then we are looking at systemic abuse that harms not only individual taxpayers but also the nation’s business climate and international reputation. Kapag nawalan ng tiwala ang negosyo—local man o foreign—nawawala rin ang trabaho, nawawala ang kita, at oportunidad para sa ating mga kababayan,” aniya pa..

Sa pagisisyasat ng Blue Ribbon Committee, ani Sen. Tulfo, ay makikita ang katotohanan kung paanong ang mga LOA at Mission Orders ay iniisyu, pinatutupad at pinagsasamantalahan. (JERRY S. TAN)