BIR expands list of audit targets

Aside from the self-employed and professionals, the taxman will also keep a watchful eye on business owners who are engaged in high-traffic operations and those that involve expensive goods.

In Revenue Memorandum Order No. 4-2013, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares laid out guidelines on which taxpayers are being prioritized for audit.

Included in the priority list are businesses related to wrist watches and jewelry, petroleum fuels like gasoline, real estate, contractors that deal with government entities (including state firms) and wholesalers and retailers in general.

Also primed for audit are operators of hotels, motels, pension or lodging houses and inns, and dormitories and boarding houses; schools and review centers, particularly those that cater to foreigners, as well as restaurants, fast-food chains, catering services, bars and coffee shops.

The same goes for those who run hospitals, clinics and medical and dental laboratories; clinics for beauty enhancements; factories and dealerships of beauty and health supplements; and entertainment or event centers.

The same goes with advertising agencies, business process outsourcing companies, e-commerce companies, and manpower and other recruitment services agencies.

The memorandum added that other businesses must also expect an audit of their tax returns, especially those in industries that are “peculiar to the area of jurisdiction of the (BIR) district office.”

In announcing last Monday a “war” against high-earning individuals who pay very small amounts in tax, Henares said the top of the audit list were professionals and sole proprietorships who paid less than P200,000 in income tax a year.