A MEASURE seeking to ease the process of paying taxes has been passed at the House Committee on Ways and Means.
At a hearing on Wednesday, the committee approved a substitute bill consolidating House Bills (HB) 53 and 2823.
The measure hopes to modernize tax administration as a means of improving taxpayer compliance, specifically by simplifying the process of filing tax returns on the part of small taxpayers.
If passed, the bill will also remove the P500 annual taxpayer registration fee, introduce a medium-sized taxpayer classification, and remove the distinction between sales invoices and official receipts for purposes of recognizing VAT transactions.
“The bill aims to simplify tax filing and payment, and address burdensome tax compliance which affects our small and medium enterprises and turns off our investors,” the committee’s chairman, Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda, said in a statement on Viber.
A similar bill, HB 8942 or the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, was approved on third reading at the House during the 18th Congress. — Matthew Carl L. Montecillo