BIR Will Go After Online Sellers
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has announced that that BIR will go after online sellers. Unlike in other countries, local e-commerce in the Philippines is just starting to flourish into profitable industry. Most online sellers have expressed their objection on BIR’ s recent announcement on the move to tax entrepreneurs in the local e-commerce industry contending that online transactions make up only about 1 percent of total retail and are mostly made up of occasional sellers, according to experts. Most online stores are not being operated by big companies and some of the sellers only intend to get rid of old items.
However, the BIR in correct in contending that no law is required to tax online sellers for Section 237 of the National Internal Revenue Code requires the issuance of receipts and lays down penalties for violators. The law does not give any exceptions for as long as the online sellers who are mostly resident citizens and resident corporations derive income in the Philippines, then their revenues are certainly taxable.
For full details of the article, read “Proposed Taxation on E-Commerce Needs Further Study, Experts Say”
