Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said its data sharing partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would allow the agency to go after big time corporate tax evaders.
The two agencies signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and data sharing agreement (DSA) on July 17, 2024 to facilitate a more streamlined information exchange. The BIR said that under the agreement, it would be able to focus on big-time corporate tax evaders through the documents provided by the SEC.
“The BIR will maximize our partnership with the SEC by running after big-time corporate tax evaders. This sharing of information between the agencies will be used to investigate large-scale tax fraud activities perpetrated by companies such as that of Ghost Receipts and corporate tax evasion” Lumagui said in a statement.
Lumagui said the BIR’s access to the Swift Corporate and Other Records Exchange (SCORE) protocol of the SEC would allow the tax agency to have access to an online portal where it could check all the corporate documents of any SEC-registered taxpayer.
This online avenue allows for immediate information-sharing of corporate documents that are crucial to a corporate tax fraud investigation or audit, he said.
The MOA and DSA allow for the sharing of information that will benefit the policies and programs of each agency, Lumagui said.
The BIR also expressed its support to the SEC, including the latter’s digitalization programs.
