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OFWs urged to file ITRs early
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Posted on Mar 24 2000
Exempted or not, Filipino workers in the Northern Marianas must file their income tax returns to the Philippine Consulate before the deadline on April 15 to avoid penalty.
The Consulate will intensify its campaign to encourage Filipino workers here to submit their ITRs even those who are exempt from paying income taxes to the Philippine government. Income tax forms are now available at the Consular Office.
However, overseas Filipino workers on Tinian and on Rota will be allowed extension in the filing of their income taxes by as late as the first two weeks of May, or when the Consulate conducts consular mission on the islands.
The Consulate normally extends the deadline up to the last day of April to accommodate more income tax transactions made by OFWs.
The 1997 income tax was the last to be collected by the Philippine government from overseas Filipino workers, seamen and nonresident citizens.
A memorandum from the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue [BIR] exempts Filipino nationals working abroad from paying income taxes starting calendar year 1998.
Despite the exemption from paying income taxes, overseas Filipinos are still required by Philippine laws to file ITRs every year. The instruction was specified under the Section 5 of the Revenue Memorandum Circular 1-98.
The tax exemption privilege for OFWs was contained in the Comprehensive Tax Reform which was signed into law by President Ramos in November 1997.
OFWs, who have secured overseas employment certificate from the Department of Labor and Employment, are already exempt from paying travel taxes and airport terminal fees.
Filipinos working abroad have been dubbed the country’s “new breed of heroes,” because of their economic contributions by adding up the Philippine economy’s dollar reserves. (A. R. Fajardo)
