DIGITAL SERVICES PLANONG PATAWAN NG VAT

PINAG-AARALAN ng Department of Finance (DOF) kung paano makakakolekta ng value-added tax (VAT) mula sa local at cross-border digital transactions na katulad sa mga kapitbahay nito sa Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Ito ay makaraang mapaulat na iniimbestigahan ng US ang digital services tax ng European Union (EU), Britain, Turkey, Indonesia, at  India dahil tinatarget umano nito ang US firms, tulad ng Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, at Netflix.

Ayon kay Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, batid nila na ilang bansa ang nagsimula nang magpataw ng buwis sa digital services sa kabila ng kawalan ng kasunduan sa kung paano ire-reallocate ang income taxation rights sa cross-border digital transactions.

“We are constantly monitoring developments on this matter. Once an international agreement is reached, we will immediately study and propose tax reforms to capture income tax on cross-border digital transactions,” ani Dominguez.

Aniya, nakatuon ang pansin nila ngayon sa kung paano makakakolekta ng VAT mula sa   local at cross-border digital transactions, na kapareho sa ginagawa ng ibang Asean countries.

“Both the DOF and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are currently crafting regulations and designing a system to effectively collect VAT on digital transactions to help the government raise revenues,” sabi pa ng finance chief.

“In this regard, while we are now focusing on administrative regulations, we still welcome Congressman (Joey) Salceda’s proposed bill on digital tax, specifically on his proposed amendments to our VAT law.”

Ang tinutukoy  niya ay ang panukala ni Albay Rep. Joey Salceda na buwisan ang subscriptions sa video at music streaming applications, advertisements sa social media sites, at sales sa online sites upang mapunan ang nawalang kita sa panukalang corporate income tax (CIT) cuts mula 30 percent sa 25 percent sa layuning matulungan ang maliliit na negosyo na hinagupit ng tcoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Giit ni Dominguez, ang pagpapatupad ng CIT at ng  12-percent VAT sa naturang mga serbisyo ay malaking tulong sa revenue base ng gobyerno. (PNA)