- Senator Marcos slammed the BIR for forcing cooperatives to pay taxes to the government
- Marcos said RA 9520 exempts cooperatives from paying tax dues
- The vice-presidential aspirant said that cooperatives are forced to pay taxes under protest
Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has slammed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for allegedly charging taxes from cooperatives, which are supposedly exempted from paying their tax dues to the government based on existing laws.
In an article written by Elizabeth Marcelo for GMA News Online, it was disclosed that the vice-presidential aspirant has cited Republic Act 9520 also known as the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 as the basis for his claim, which the BIR has ignored.
“Lagi kaming nag-aaway ni BIR Commissioner Kim Henares kung bakit kayo kinukuhanan ng buwis, tax-exempt naman kayo. Naghihigpit ang koleksyon nila [I always argue with BIR Commissioner Kim Henares on why you are taxed even though you are tax-exempt. They are becoming strict in their collections],” he said during a meeting with the members of the Cardona, Rizal Multi-Purpose Cooperatives.
Marcos, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Cooperatives, said that according to the law, cooperatives whose operations primarily deal with its members are not “subject to any taxes and fees imposed under the internal revenue laws and other tax laws.”
He further noted that cooperatives who transact business with people who are not part of their organization are also exempted from tax dues, provided that their accumulated reserves and undivided savings do not exceed P10 million.
“Because of this practice many cooperatives were forced to pay their taxes under protest,” he said; adding that the BIR requires several documentary requirements to be submitted prior to the approval of tax exemptions.
Last month, the BIR has also tightened its regulations covering tax exemptions of schools, colleges and universities; saying that non-profit educational need to prove their exemption status every time they file their reports.
“The RDOs shall conduct an audit of the annual information return filed to determine compliance with the conditions set forth in the certificate of exemption and the tax liabilities,” the bureau stated in Revenue Memorandum Circular 24-2016.
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