During the House Infracomm Hearing on Anomalous Flood Control last September 9th, Mayor Vico Sotto mentioned the tax deficiencies of the Discaya and their issues with the BIR.
It annoyed me because it reminded me of what happened to me last June when I received a Notice of Collection from the BIR.
Apparently, I had been using an “expired” tax code for the past 6 quarters. I was using the one with a 1% tax rate instead of the new one with a 3% tax rate for filing my Quarterly Percentage Income Tax (Form 2551Q).
I was asked to resolve the issue within five days of receiving the notice to avoid any legal actions.
As a law-abiding citizen, I immediately called the contact number in the letter to ask for guidance on how to settle the deficiency.
I was advised to visit my RDO (Revenue District Office).
I received the letter on June 16th and went to the BIR RDO on June 19th to settle everything and prevent the issue from escalating.
My biggest concern was having to deal with the people at the BIR office, knowing how messed up the system is.
I knew that aside from money, I would need to prepare a lot of time and patience.
But I had no choice.
As expected, it was difficult to fix everything.
If you’ve ever dealt with the BIR, you’d know how they love wasting taxpayers’ time.
They have a ridiculous process that even their own staff don’t understand, so you end up going from one window to another just to figure out what you need to do.
And every time you switch windows, you need to get a queue number and wait again.
Sounds awful, right?
On top of that, the people at the BIR office have no sense of customer service.
They treat taxpayers like tax evaders.
You know that feeling when they make it seem like you owe them a favor for assisting you?
Like, hello! Taxpayers should be treated like premium customers because WE PAY TAXES!
Oh well, this is the Philippines, so it’s not surprising anymore.
We’re left with no choice but to deal with the stupidity while wasting our time, money, and patience.
To cut the story short, it took me 2 days to complete the process.
The 1st day was for fixing all the documentation and computing the charges.
The 2nd day was for going to the BIR-accredited bank to make the payment, then returning to the RDO to submit proof of payment.
The charges included:
- The tax amount I still owed (difference between the 3% and 1% rates)
- Surcharges
- Interest charges
- Compromise fee (penalty for late filing)
The settlement was done per quarter, and since 6 quarters were involved, I had to do the documentation 6 times and pay the charges in 6 folds as well.
Among all the charges, I was most annoyed by the Compromise Fee of ₱1,500 per quarter, which I had to multiply by 6.
But I had no choice, so I paid it.
What really upset me was that the BIR waited for 6 quarters before reaching out to tell me that I’ve been using an invalid tax rate.
And they didn’t even bother to remove the “expired” tax code from their system, which led to taxpayers mistakenly using it.
If the tax code was expired, why did the system still accept it during filing?
It should have been the BIR’s responsibility to update the system to prevent costly mistakes, right?
But of course, it’s costly for taxpayers but profitable for the BIR, so I wouldn’t be wrong to assume that’s why the “expired” code is still there.
It’s a money-making scheme—SMH.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this because Mayor Vico’s mention of the Discaya reminded me of it.
As an ordinary citizen, I’m infuriated by how unfair the system is in our country.
That’s why I relate so much when people say that the “small” and ordinary Filipinos, who work honestly, are the ones being robbed and burdened by the government and agencies like the BIR.
This is also the reason why sometimes I’m no longer surprised why many people just go along with what’s wrong—because it’s easier to be corrupt in this country.
It’s so hard to be right and honest in the Philippines because you end up being the one taken advantage of.
But I still believe that greed has its limits.
And I hope this is just the beginning of exposing the true colors of those in power.
Hopefully, what’s happening in the DPWH is just the start, because I’m sure every branch of government has syndicates that need to be exposed.
And I hope to witness that revelation in my lifetime.
To those who fight with integrity and fairness, I’m proud of you!
If you’ve reached the age of 40 and still have a clean conscience, you are truly successful!
If you’ve reached your position without political favors, you are a true role model!
And if you’ve achieved your financial status without owing anything to syndicates, you are truly wealthy!
Even if progress and wealth come slowly, we will never trade our name and dignity for meaningless riches.
And I hope the time comes when this kind of character is what people admire and follow—not the trash that’s just being funded by the people’s money.
