Inter-agency databank mulled to verify taxpayers’ lifestyles

The government will soon establish an inter-agency databank for easier monitoring of the real taxable income of small and large taxpayers as well as checking the lifestyle of each taxpayers especially the businessmen.

Congressman Danilo E. Suarez of the 3rd District Quezon, and chairman of the oversight committee at the House of Representatives said that the databank will provide all information needed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to collect the real taxable income especially for businessmen.

The databank will collect all the information from the Bureau of Immigration, Land Transportation Office, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Education, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, among others, to check the registered assets and travel movements, including tuition fees of businessmen’s children to check the lifestyle of taxpayers.

According to Suarez through the databank, they can determine who are living an expensive lifestyle and yet paying only a minimal amount of taxes to the government.

He said those that are sending their children to international schools, traveling abroad for Cruise vacations, and other expensive travels, owning luxury cars and living in class A subdivisions, own several properties will be checked by the government through the collaborative efforts of different agencies.

“There are those wealthy Filipinos that can afford to send their children to very expensive schools, with luxurious vehicles and travel abroad from time to time, but only pay very small amount in taxes. This has to be stopped,” Suarez said.

“Cheating the government, through tax evasion is becoming a way of life [for some Filipinos],” Suarez said adding that this is one of the primary reasons why BIR consistently failed to reach its collection target since 1947 (except in 2005), because of rampant manipulation of tax payers.

Last year, the Philippines registered the second highest deficiency rate in tax collection in the last five years.

Because of this, the (RA) 9480 or the Tax Amnesty Law was implemented to offer immunity from payment of taxes and penalties due to non-payment of tax for 2005 and prior years; inadmissibility of the tax amnesty return and statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN); immunity of the SALN and tax amnesty return from being inquired or looked into by any person; and immunity from audit.

On the other hand, Suarez expressed apprehensions that the implementation to start off the databank will be delayed because the plan is greatly affected by the ongoing broadband issue.

Supposedly, the databank facility had already been in place and ready for rollout, but it is being hit by the broadband controversy.

“The President [Arroyo] must come up with an alternative program,” Suarez said.

However, Suarez is confident that the databank will run by next year, as he is also trying to talk with private telecommunication companies, and internet service providers (ISPs), especially in preserving the confidentiality of the information that will be exchanged from one agency to the other. – Ehda M. Dagooc