Repealing the bank secrecy law ensures an efficient and a reliable tax collection procedure in the country, according to Senator Bam Aquino, who noted that the Philippines is one of the few countries still left with a bank secrecy law.
Aquino has filed Senate Bill No. 1495 in hope of repealing RA 1405, otherwise known as the “Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law.”
“This law was enacted for the purpose of encouraging individuals to deposit funds in banking institutions in order to encourage economic growth. But it also protects dubious individuals, allowing them to evade taxes and conceal monetary transactions that may be unconstitutional,” Aquino said.
Records from the Department of Finance, the senator said, showed that as much as P669.34 billion in taxes and duties are lost annually due to the restrictive banking laws in the country or around 33.7 percent of the yearly tax revenues.
“It is thus necessary to strengthen measures to ensure that Filipino rightfully declare their taxes. In line with the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform, the lifting of this law secures efficiency in terms of revenue collection by both the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs. The lifting of this law also ensures that our country avoids tax evasion and tax fraud cases,” Aquino said.