BIR bares top corporate taxpayers for 2012

MANILA, Philippines - Only 39 out of the 100 biggest corporations in the country made it to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)’s 500 top corporate taxpayers for 2012, according to the government’s latest Tax Watch campaign.      

The infographic advertisement showed that while these corporations are the biggest in terms of revenues, some of them are not among the top taxpayers.

The BIR and the Department of Finance compared the list of the top 500 corporate taxpayers with the preliminary list of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s top 100 corporations to determine whether these firms are paying the right taxes. The SEC comes out yearly with its list of top 100 corporations based on gross revenues.

Power utility giant Manila Electric Co. emerged as the number one corporate taxpayer after remitting P9.35 billion to the government in 2012.

Smart Communications, another company headed by the group of telecommunications magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan, was the second highest taxpayer, after its income tax due reached P7.94 billion. It placed ninth on the SEC list.

Oil refiner Petron Corp., the country’s second biggest corporation, ranked 99th on the BIR list. It remitted P299.3 million in income taxes to the BIR.

Third largest firm Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. only remitted P543.45 million in income taxes to become the 59th highest taxpayer.

Nestlé Philippines, the sixth largest corporation, turned in P5.31 billion, representing its income tax payment, to rank seventh highest taxpayer.       

Oil giant Chevron Philippines, operator of the natural gas field off Palawan, was the fourth highest taxpayer after remitting P341.44 million to the government. It was the SEC’s 13th biggest corporation.