COA: Contractors, suppliers underpaying Las Piñas

From philstar.com:

By Michael Punongbayan

Manila, Philippines – Government contractors and suppliers in Las Piñas are not paying the right taxes, according to a 2011 Commission on Audit (COA) report released yesterday.

State auditors said the city government failed to collect correct business taxes from its own contractors and suppliers and from contractors and suppliers of other government agencies last year.

Doing the math, the audit team said at least P3.123 million in tax deficiencies for the year 2011 should be collected pursuant to the provisions of the city’s revenue code.

The COA said when its audit team checked the declared gross receipts and sales of at least 48 suppliers and contractors that are either based in Las Piñas or doing business with the city government or other agencies, “the comparison revealed the underdeclaration of receipts/sales, resulting in underpayment of taxes by at least P3,123,768.37.”

The COA report recommended that business taxpayers doing business in Las Piñas be required to submit to the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) a certification of payment from the city’s chief accountant to serve as one of the basis in the computation of their business taxes.  

“We also recommended that taxpayers dealing with the city and other government agencies be subjected to audit and not be allowed to avail of the ‘no audit policy’ program of the city,” the audit team’s findings read.

In compliance, the city treasurer’s office said it has started sending demand letters to delinquent business taxpayers.