by Roel R. Landingin
BIG COMPANIES expect their income tax returns to be routinely checked by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). But firms that enjoy tax and duty exemptions granted by the Board of Investments (BOI), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and other investment-promotion bodies belong to a special category that tax examiners wantonly ignore.
by Roel R. Landingin
IT TAKES the tax bureau’s southern Makati district office, housed at the Atrium building along Makati Avenue, about a year to collect P13 billion in taxes. Just a few blocks away, another government agency, the Board of Investments (BOI), took just 14 working days to decide to grant the same amount in tax exemptions to two of the country’s most profitable companies — Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc.