The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has released several new reports on the results of recently conducted reviews of the implementation of international tax information exchange standards. The mechanism of implementation and legal frameworks for international tax transparency and information exchange in nine different countries have been reviewed by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, with the results being released on May 1st. The newly published reports outlined the results of ... Read More

The government of Philippines is aiming to instate tax reductions in order to make a significant positive impact in efforts to reduce the country’s levels of greenhouse gas emission and bolster public acceptance of eco products. The House of Representatives of the Philippines is one step closer to instating a new green tax measure, after having approved the first reading of a new bill which would see a 30 percent decrease in the factory price of eco-friendly automobiles. The new draft bill ... Read More

An anti-evasion program that is running in the Philippines is proving to be highly effective at encouraging public tax compliance, by putting high-profile instances of tax fraud in the media spotlight. The Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program currently being operated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of the Philippines is showing evidence of raising public tax compliance practices, and has led to numerous high-value tax evasion charges being filed. The RATE program was initially conceived by the government in 2005, and put ... Read More

The Philippine’s two primary tax agencies are considering a new cooperative project aimed at reducing smuggling and tax evasion by companies registered in the Philippines. In a statement released on March 24th the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of the Philippines announced its new proposal for the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which would require local companies to present their latest income tax returns before being granted clearance for their imports. According to the BIR, the new obligations would allow the two tax agencies to ... Read More

The government of the Philippines will not raise tax rates or instate new taxes in 2011 despite recent suggestions that such action is needed in order for the country to meet its development goals. On March 6th the Secretary of the Philippines Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Ramon Carandan gave a statement on a government run radio station saying that no new taxes will be instated in the country this year, contrary to suggestions brought forward in a government think-tank ... Read More

Two revenue-raising departments of the Government of the Philippines are expected to begin operating with higher levels of cooperation in an effort to combat smuggling and tax evasion in the country. On January 9th the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of the Philippines announced that the two departments would soon begin cooperative efforts to eradicate tax evasion and smuggling in the country. The bureaus are expected to start a new tax compliance project in the near future ... Read More

The Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue has publicized its intentions to raise the country's tax ratio, through greater levels of efficiency in tax collection and stringent enforcement of compliance laws for taxpayers and Government staff . The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of the Philippines has stated that it hopes to raise the national tax ratio (tax collection as a percentage of national GDP) to 15 percent within two years, from the current level of 12.9 percent. The goal will require increased ... Read More