AVOID THE RUSH... FILE YOUR TAXES EARLY

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is putting up special tax filing centers in strategic places all over the country for the convenience of taxpayers as the April 15 deadline for the filing of the 2008 income tax returns (ITRs) nears. BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe said the “tulungan” centers will be put up inside branches of the bureau’s authorized agent banks ( AABs), commercial centers as well as municipal and city halls. They will be manned by BIR examiners and members of the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP), Aspe said.

The BIR official, however, stressed that ITRs with payments must be filed with banks under the revenue district office where the concerned taxpayer is registered. BIR Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV, meanwhile, reiterated his request to the AABs that they accept tax payments from taxpayers who do not have existing accounts with them.

Avoid the rush. File your tax returns early.