Foreigners asked to secure TIN before applying for work visa for proper tax collection
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2019 07:02:05 +0000
PROSPECTIVE foreign workers in the Philippines are required to first secure a tax identification number (TIN) before applying for a work visa to ensure that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will be able to collect taxes.
In a recently-released Operations Order, the BI required applicants for work visa a copy of their TIN card or any proof of TIN.
“We are adjusting our policy in support of the BIR, to ensure that the government collects the necessary taxes from foreign workers in the country. All applicants for working visas will be required a TIN,” Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said on Thursday.
The BI is part of an Inter-Agency Task Force on the Employment of Foreign Nationals, which was recently created to address the proliferation of foreigners working in the country without the required work visa from the immigration bureau and the alien employment permit (AEP) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), and harmonize rules on foreign workers.
Morente said that the move was a “simple solution that would make a huge impact in tax collection,” and that the action was a “result of government agencies working together.”
At the same time, Morente allayed fears of the business community on the restrictions set by the new rules on the Special Work Permit (SWP), saying that they were not added burdens to professionals.
“It was put in place to protect jobs for Filipinos. It ensures that blue collar jobs will not be given to foreign nationals,” he added.
The new BI rules allow only 14 jobs to be issued the SWP.
“These activities include highly technical activities, and they may stay here for a maximum period of 6 months only,” said Morente.
Under the inter-agency guidelines, the Department of Justice shall oversee the issuance of permits to work by the BI, which has been authorized to issue the SWP to foreign nationals engaged in specific activities and provisional work permits (PWPs) to those who wish to work immediately pending issuance of the AEP from the DoLE.
The DoLE determines the non-availability of a Filipino who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the alien is desired, and issue AEP to all foreign nationals intending to engage in gainful employment in the country and share such data with the BI and BIR.
The BIR is tasked to issue the TIN to foreign nationals applying for SWP, AEP, or PWP and share the TIN data to DoLE and the BI.
A Senate investigation revealed that there were about 400,000 foreigners working in Metro Manila, majority of them without AEP and TI, and were being employed by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) and call centers.
The AEP is a requirement before a foreign worker can be issued a working visa by the immigration bureau, which recently uncovered that some applicants have submitted fake AEPs, an act punishable by deportation.
Under the law, foreigners found to be working in the Philippines without a valid AEP may only be be fined P10,000 for every year of illegal work or fraction thereof; the organization that was illegally employing them will also be subject to a fine of P10,000 for every year of illegal employment or a fraction thereof.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said that the DoLE needed more teeth to effectively implement existing laws that prohibited companies from hiring foreign workers for jobs that could be done by Filipinos.
“The sad part of the story is that the erring firms and illegal worker are only fined P10,000, an amount too small to compel compliance with our labor laws,” he said. WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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