MANILA, Philippines — Last week, the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) revealed that it’ll be upholding stricter guidelines to tax online creators in a few month’s time. This is according to the Revenue Memorandum Circular 97-2021 (Circular) recently issued by the BIR. In turn, the Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines (CICP) has published an official statement in response and acknowledgement.
The statement, issued on August 19, 2021, is as follows:
We, the Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines (CICP), welcome Revenue Memorandum Circular 97-2021 (Circular) which was recently issued by the BIR.
We would like to commend the BIR in issuing the said Circular as it gives a general overview of all the tax rules and regulations that are applicable to the members of our organization. Furthermore, the said Circular provides information as to how our members could benefit from certain tax treaties between the Philippines and its partner countries. Ultimately, this information will help our members in avoiding double taxation.
Among our organization’s core values is responsible citizenship which necessarily includes the payment of taxes because it is the lifeblood of our government and allows it to provide necessary services especially in these uncertain times. As such it is imperative among us, as citizens, to do our part by paying proper taxes. We view the Circular as an opportunity to exemplify the importance we give to paying taxes, and show others that we view it as a patriotic duty that any responsible citizen should fulfill.
That said, we hope the BIR recognizes that we in the organization, as well as the vast community of Influencers, conduct business digitally. We hope the BIR will soon introduce certain mechanisms that will ease the burden of tax compliance by using these digital platforms, not only for the benefit of the Influencers, but also for the benefit of all taxpayers. We would be happy to dialogue with the Bureau about these initiatives.
CICP is now crafting a Code of Ethics centered around content standards, fair dealing, transparency, social responsibility and compliance with law. The Circular is a timely reminder of the values that we champion for our members and the broader influencer community.
For this, we are thankful for the BIR in giving this opportunity not only for us to promote the organization’s core values, but also for us to show that we are doing our part as responsible citizens of this country.