Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA)
Sec. Jeremiah B. Belgica
House Bill (HB) No. 8942 or the proposed Ease of Paying Taxes Law seeks to simplify tax transactions. Its salient provisions include the offsite filing of the Tax Identification Number (TIN), removal of the required annual Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) registration, and harmonization of venue rules to allow fully online filings with the Bureau.
Certainly, the above-mentioned proposal complements Republic Act No. 11032, also known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, aimed at increasing efficiency by ridding red tape across the bureaucracy through streamlining of processes and filing of cases against erring government agencies, employees, and/or private accomplices.
Hence, we support its recent passage on second reading at the House of Representatives and back any calls for its speedy approval.
We see that HB 8942 will have a positive effect on the country’s scores in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Survey.
Now that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and more contagious variants are emerging, modernizing tax administration and improving tax compliance through streamlining and automation will undoubtedly reduce the burden on taxpayers and eventually encourage people to settle their taxes. (ARTA) – jlo
