PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., signed into the the Value Added Tax for foreign digital services.
This means it will have a measure that will impose a 12% value-added tax (VAT) on digital services provided by foreign companies.
In a ceremonial signing at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang Palace, Marcos signed Republic Act of 112023.
According to the Palace, the said VAT on digital services is seen to level the playing field between traditional businesses — especially those that cannot shift to a digital platform and whose nature cannot be shifted to a digital platform — and digital businesses.
It aims to strengthen and streamline the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s authority to collect VAT on digital services by providing measures on how digital service platforms can comply with VAT requirements imposed by the Tax Code.
It will be recalled that in June, several lawmakers had approved a harmonized version of House Bill 4122 and Senate Bill 2528 during the bicameral conference.
It stated that the reconciled version of the bill seeks to impose a 12% VAT on digital transactions by non-resident digital service providers.
According to Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, they expect to collect from the digital services to some P20 billion every year.
