Senator Rafael ‘’Raffy’’ Tulfo said Tuesday, Aug. 16 that government must focus on the "big fish", like big-time oil smugglers, and not on some small fry if it really wants to collect serious money through taxation.
This, after Tulfo slammed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) following complaints from a vlogger and an online seller that some BIR agents visited their homes and knocked on their doors to inquire about their tax payments.
He said the government should run after big-time oil smugglers so it could collect huge amounts of revenues instead of running after vloggers and individual online sellers who deal with small change.
While he acknowledged that Filipinos who are earning should pay the corresponding taxes as stated by the law, Tulfo maintained that “The government must know their priorities if their intention is to maximize state revenue through taxation.”
Tulfo, chairperson of the Senate Energy Committee, pointed out that billions of pesos annually could have been collected if only the Bureau of Customs (BOC) had been properly doing its job in preventing oil smuggling.
It can be noted that the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law mandates fuel marking in order to reduce oil smuggling in the country wherein imported fuel is marked by the government using a special ink that signified payments of correct tax dues.
To help prevent oil smuggling and ensure that marker is added to the fuel accurately, the government entered into a contract with Switzerland-based inspection services provider Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS).
Tulfo, however, expressed doubts over the technology provider considering that that oil smuggling continues to run rampant despite its existence.
“Justifiable ba yang contract kung laganap pa din ang oil smuggling sa bansa (Is that contract justifiable even if smuggling continues in this country)? The government should consider developing the same technology and training our people to properly operate it para makatipid tayo (so that we could save),” he suggested.
The Senator from Isabela said this reality should prompt BIR, as well as BOC, to prioritize going after the mastermind of oil smuggling instead of targeting vloggers and online sellers with small earnings.
In the coming weeks, Tulfo said he would file a resolution, in aid of legislation, to address the issue head on and find out the people or groups behind oil smuggling.