Fledgling, home-based entrepreneurs—hailed as the heroes of the Philippine economy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—shouldn’t be given a hard time to register their businesses.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda expressed this on Sunday, Jan. 10, following the recent formation of the government committee on regulatory relief, done in compliance with the “Bayanihan to Recover as One” Act or Bayanihan 2.

“Online businesses are the saviors of the Philippine economy in this pandemic. Many of them are home-based, and are the only source of income for many families. They want to register as formal businesses, so they can avail of government loans, grants, and other services. They want to register with online payment systems. But it’s not easy to register a business right now,” said Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

“Under current processes, you have to face 10 agencies to register a business in the country. It takes 33 days at least to complete these processes. And you have to pay a registration fee with the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) to pay taxes. Imagine how absurd that is—there is a barrier to paying taxes,” he noted.

As such, Salceda called on the regulatory relief committee to prioritize making online small business registration easier, as well as remove the registration fees imposed by the BIR.

According to the solon, many small online businesses want to legitimize themselves as registered businesses, but are struggling with the processes of licensing agencies.

“We should put a premium on businesses and taxpayers who register and contribute to the economy and the treasury. We shouldn’t make it harder to register as a legitimate, taxpaying business,” the outspoken Bicolano said.
Salceda called BIR’s annual taxpayer registration fee worth P500 “absurd.”

“It’s absurd to impose a fee to allow people to pay taxes. It’s the state who benefits from taxpayer compliance. Paying taxes is not a privilege that people will apply for. It’s a government rule we are happy to see people follow. So, we should not impose barriers to paying taxes,” he explained.
He also urged the BIR to relax rules on in-person registration for a taxpayer identification number.

“It’s, frankly, redundant. Banks and brokers already allow virtual appearance in opening an account. Even notaries-public allow it. If you can take an oath virtually, why should registering as a taxpayer, an act of transparency on your part, be any harder?” he asked.

“If they don’t do it, we will do it,” Salceda added, citing his House Bill No. 7881, or the Ease of Paying Taxes Act.