BIR chief willing to face inquiry on taxpayer data information returns

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) chief Kim Henares is willing to justify the mandatory filing of an annual information return, which lawmakers claimed would be unconstitutional and unlawful. Last week, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the BIR’s plan to require private individuals to fill up an annual information return is “an illegal and unnecessary state intrusion." Henares told reporters over the weekend that the bureau is not requiring citizens to file the equivalent of a statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth. “It’s not anything like that at all." She said an annual information return only details an individual’s sources of income other than salaries or active participation in business. “We just want to get the whole picture." The BIR said the filing of an annual information return would be optional in 2011 but mandatory next year. The filing of an annual information return addresses two issues, according to Henares. These are the “non-inclusion of famous and wealthy personalities in the list of top individual taxpayers, and the impending government requirement of income tax returns as basis for the granting of loans, licenses, and franchises, among others," she said. — JE/VS, GMA News