Vlogger and businesswoman Rosmar Tan has recently shared her encounters with the tax authorities, shedding light on her struggles with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) not once, but twice.
Tan bravely admitted that her interactions with the BIR had been quite stressful before, particularly when tax collectors would unexpectedly arrive at her business establishments.
Speaking at the BIR National Tax Campaign Kick-off, Tan, alongside other public figures, discussed their initial challenges in adhering to tax regulations. During the event, she disclosed that her first encounter with the bureau stemmed from missing a tax payment deadline.
“Ang nangyari po before hindi pala tama yung date ng pagbabayad, maliit pa lang po kasi yung [business ko], meron pa akong pet shop noon dati, restaurant, mga ganyan, hanggang sa dumating sa point na every time na may magta-tax mapping, ninenerbyos po talaga ako,” Tan said.
[What happened before was that the payment date was not correct. My business was still small back then, I had a pet shop before, a restaurant, and so on. It reached the point that every time there was a tax mapping, I really got nervous.]
Tax mapping, or the Tax Compliance Verification Drive (TCVD) program, was launched in 2003 to ensure that businesses comply with tax regulations by allowing BIR examiners to visit establishments and verify their tax compliance.
Tan encountered another unexpected issue with the BIR, this time stemming from a gift she received on her wedding day, for which she was not at fault.
She revealed that when she was given a cape made of P1 million cash at her wedding, she had no idea that it would be subject to taxation.
In the Philippines, donations, including cash gifts or any gratuitous transfer of property, are subject to a six percent donor's tax.
Following this second unfortunate experience, she took extra care to ensure that all taxes were properly settled when she gave a gift to her sister on her wedding day.
“Pangalawang beses, kami naman nagsabit sa kinasal naming kapatid, kinomply ko na po [yung tax] agad,” she said.
[The second time, it was our turn to give at our sibling's wedding, and I immediately complied with the tax requirements]
Last year, reports emerged that Tan's sister received P6 million in cash and a brand-new car as a wedding gift from her.
However, Tan recently stirred controversy when she disclosed on another artist's YouTube channel that she earns over P5 million daily from her beauty business. This revelation left netizens questioning whether the BIR is enforcing taxes on her substantial earnings.
However, Tan promptly addressed the issue in a Facebook post, asserting her compliance with tax regulations and even stating that she is one of the BIR's top withholding agents.
“Ngayon na-realize ko, hindi naman pala nakakatakot ang BIR as long as nagccomply ka nang maayos,” she said.
[Now I realize, the BIR isn't really that scary as long as you comply properly.]
The bureau has been on a mission to go after prominent influencers who are proven of tax evasion, even saying that they can already verify the actual earnings of these personalities through online platforms.
Based on the BIR, personalities who earn money from their social media posts are classified as self-employed individuals or persons engaged in trade or business as sole proprietors.
Their earnings are generally considered as business income, as defined under BIR’s Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 97-2021 issued last Aug. 16, 2021.
Under this order, these people are obliged to pay income tax and percentage tax or, if applicable, the value-added tax, as mandated under the National Internal Revenue Code and other existing laws.