The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has lauded the passage of Republic Act No. 11976 or the "Ease of Paying Taxes Act," aimed at facilitating proper tax filing for businesses to increase revenue collection.

“The passage of RA 11976 is certainly a welcome development to the business community. I hope this law, coupled with proper implementation and monitoring, will significantly ease the paying of taxes in the country," said PCCI President Consul Enunina Mangio in statement on Jan. 9.

Mangio also expressed her hope that the law will streamline processes in order to attract more foreign investors into the country.

Aside from providing a classification of micro, small, medium and large companies among business taxpayers, the newly signed law allows businesses to file income tax returns online or manually with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) through an authorized agent bank or software provider.  

According to the PCCI, the law "eliminates the distinction between documentation and basis of sales of goods and services; and classification of value-added tax (VAT) refund claims into, medium and high-risk."

Implementing guidelines have not yet been released.

However, PCCI Tax and Legislative Committee Director Atty. Benedicta DuBaladad remarked that the BIR should intensify information campaigns for the public and companies, complementary to the PCCI's own education campaigns and partnerships to ensure small enterprises are able to benefit from the new law.

The PCCI and BIR have a prior agreement to share best practices on taxation policies and regulations to enhance the country's business tax system.