By Euney Marie J. Mata-Perez on December 13, 2018
Advent is the time for giving. Thus, it is a good time to be reminded of the taxes imposed on donations and the tax benefits of making them.
By: Euney Marie J. Mata-Perez on November 29, 2018
Medical and hospitalization costs in the Philippines are not cheap and could be daunting for ordinary employees. Thus, to cover these costs, many employers obtain group health insurance plans or “health cards” for their employees or contribute to health and hospitalization benefit plans. The issue arises on whether premium costs paid for such group health insurance would be subject to the fringe benefits tax (FBT) or withholding/income tax on compensation income.
By: Euney Marie J. Mata-Perez on November 22, 2018
We are finally moving forward on the proposed general and estate tax amnesties.
The Senate approved Senate Bill No. 2059 (SB 2059) on third and final reading last Nov. 19, 2019. On the other hand, the House of Representatives approved its counterpart House Bill No. 8554 (HB 8554) on final reading on Nov. 20, 2018.
By: Euney Marie Mata-Perez on November 15, 2018
Mutual trust and respect between taxpayers and tax authorities, as well as fairness in tax laws, are cornerstones to a successful and effective tax system. Taxation is one of the State’s inherent and great powers. However, when exercising such power, the State should recognize taxpayers’ rights. Taxpayers, on the other hand, have the duty to comply with tax laws and pay their taxes correctly.
While we have the bill of rights enshrined in our constitution, we do not have a focused law setting out taxpayer’s rights and obligations. Some fundamental rights, such as the right to due process, including the right to be properly notified of and dispute assessments and decisions, have been upheld by our courts.
By: Euney Marie J. Mata-Perez on November 8, 2018
In the recently published 2019 World Bank Doing Business (DB) Report, the ranking of the Philippines dropped 11 notches from 113th place for the year 2018 to 124th place for the year 2019 out of 190 economies. In 2017, the Philippines was ranked 99th.