The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has rejected the appeal of business and professional taxpayers across the country to further extend today’s deadline in the filing of 2019 income tax returns (ITRs) due to the continued coronavirus quarantine.
The petitioners said the health crisis has virtually stripped them of funds to settle tax liabilities while others feared of catching the disease during the last-minute congregation of taxpayers betting the deadline.
“The government needs the tax payments now precisely to help protect the health of our people against the disease,” said Revenue Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel Guballa.
He advised taxpayers to avail of the agency’s electronic filing system to avoid crowds and protect themselves getting the illness.
He said the eBIRForms can be downloaded at the bureau’s website, www.bir.gov.ph.
The taxpayers can proceed to the Authorized Agent Banks (AABs) to pay the tax after the online forms have been filled up and accepted by the BIR.
They can also make electronic payments using their credit or debit cards with selected financial institutions like the Land Bank of the Philippines, Union Bank and even the mobile App PayMaya and GCash.
Taxpayers enrolled in the electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) shall continue to avail of the same procedure, instructing banks where they maintain accounts to settle their tax debts.
They may resort to manual filing if the BIR website is unavailable due to computer glitch.(Jun Ramirez)