THE Bureau of Internal Revenue owes 600,000 minimum-wage earners an estimated P9,000 in “blood money” that it collected from them for six months in 2008 despite a law exempting them from paying tax, a labor group said Sunday.
Alan Tanjusay, spokesman of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, slammed the BIR for its failure to refund the P9,000 that he said it illegally collected from the 600,000 workers.
“This is a subtle form of injustice done by the BIR to the minimum-wage workers who depend on their daily pay to make both ends meet,” Tanjusay said.
“The amount of money the BIR collected is blood money that could have been spent to buy food, pay for tuition and purchase medicine.
‘‘We suggest that the cash refund be coursed through the employers if the employers are still existing. If the company has shut down, we suggest the refund should be disbursed through the BIR regional offices.”
Tanjusay said that in a decision in February, the Supreme Court said minimum-wage earners must not be taxed because they were exempted from paying tax by Republic Act 9502.
He said that law became effective on June 17, 2008, but the BIR issued Revenue Regulation 10-2008 and only exempted minimum wage earners six months later.
Tanjusay said the BIR collected an average of P792 a month for six months from each minimum wage earner in 2008.
He said the government must refund the money and pay a 12-percent interest on it for nine years.
