Senator Grace Poe on Thursday chided officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue over lack of information on franchise applicants’ tax payments.
Poe, chairperson of Senate public services committee, which tackled at least 29 franchise bills on Thursday, told BIR that their lack of preparation would delay the deliberations of the applications.
“Before we give a franchise to a company, we have to make sure that they have no liabilities. E kung may utang sa inyo (What if they have yet to pay their duties)?” Poe said.
“This is the best way you can collect from them because they are applying for a franchise,” the senator explained.
Apart from the BIR, the Senate panel asked the representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to check the applicants’ performance and compliance with the government regulations.
Applicants with violations of regulations of the SEC, NTC, and others are put on hold until their issues are cleared.
“The Senate is about to go on a break next week. As much as possible, we would like to finish our committee reports and hopefully take them up on the floor next week,” Poe said.
She noted that invitations, which include the list of information that the committee would need, were sent out three weeks prior to the hearing.
“I hope the BIR is taking our hearings seriously…I expect more participation and respect from the BIR because this is an actual public hearing. They should be able to assist the legislative because this is one of their functions,” she added.—LDF, GMA News
Poe chides BIR over lacking info on franchise applicants tax fees
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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