SDCIR Tan-Torres said, “The expanded withholding tax system has been in place for over 30 years. The 5% withholding tax is not a tax on the candidate; rather, it is a tax on the supplier of goods and service which tax is being collected with the assistance of the candidates/contributors under the said system. The contributor does not pay any tax on contributions to elective candidates. The contributor only withholds taxes on purchases of goods and services for election-related activities.”
With less than two (2) months to go, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is still hopeful of catching up with its collection target by instituting several measures one of which is the “SanTAX Claus Project.” SanTAX Claus is designed to reach out to “tiangge” or “privileged-store” operators and similar business arrangements this Christmas shopping season, improve tax awareness through issuance of invoices or receipts, and promote voluntary compliance.