Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Saturday, April 10, urged the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to extend the deadline for the filing of the 2020 income tax returns (ITR) by at least 30 days amid the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
The deadline is on Thursday next week, April 15.
“Because of the pandemic, the current lockdown and the policy that discourages people from going out of their homes and limits face-to-face interaction, the DOF and the BIR should give millions of taxpayers or their representatives longer time to file their tax returns and make payments,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
“NCR (National Capital Region) plus and other places have been under ECQ for two weeks now up to tomorrow and the filing will be only four days after on April 15. And there is talk on MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) in the coming weeks," he added.
Taxpayers or their representatives cannot always submit the returns online, he said, since some documents are kept in offices that are currently closed due to the lockdown. BIR offices and banks may also be closed due to disinfection.
“In some instances, which I hope is not the case, some tax return filers may be sick and have to isolate themselves to prevent virus transmission, making it difficult if not impossible for them to comply with the filing requirement,” he also noted.
He added that the lack of public transportation also makes it hard for taxpayers to personally file their ITRs.
In the case of corporations, Rodriguez said the BIR has yet to make changes in its tax returns to reflect the lower income tax rates under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law recently signed by President Duterte.
“Clearly, there is an urgent need for the DOF and the BIR to extend the filing deadline to give taxpayers or their representatives more time to comply with the filing requirement. The extension would also enable the BIR to introduce the adjustments required by the new law,” he appealed.