BIR renews partnership with business groups, expands consultative body

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has renewed its partnership with business groups, professional organizations, foreign chambers and industry associations to strengthen tax administration reforms and improve taxpayer services.

The renewed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), signed on 23 June, extends the Bureau's Partnership with Multi-Sectoral Group (BIR-PMSG), a consultative mechanism established in 2023 to facilitate dialogue between the tax agency and the private sector on tax administration, compliance issues and proposed reforms.

BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said the renewed agreement builds on the group's contributions to reforms under BIR DARES, the Bureau's five-point priority reform agenda.

"When we began working on one of the most important reforms under BIR DARES—our audit reforms—it was to the PMSG that we turned. You helped us stress-test our proposals, challenge our assumptions, and refine them before they were implemented," Mendoza said.

He said reforms introduced during the first six months of BIR DARES were strengthened through consultations with the private sector, making them more responsive to taxpayers' concerns.

Mendoza also cited the recently launched One-Time Tax Abatement Program for Micro Taxpayers as another initiative shaped by stakeholder consultations.

"This shows why dialogue matters. When we listen, we are able to design reforms that respond to real concerns on the ground," he said.

The commissioner assured members that the BIR will continue consulting stakeholders, resolving issues before they escalate and testing major reforms prior to implementation.

"Reforms do not have to be perfect on day one. What is important is that we move forward, monitor how these reforms work in practice, and improve as we go," Mendoza said.

The renewed agreement expands the BIR-PMSG from 12 to 15 member organizations with the addition of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce in the Philippines, the Philippine Institute of Petroleum and the Swiss Chamber of the Philippines.

Under the new MOA, the BIR and its private sector partners will continue collaborating on tax administration reforms, taxpayer services, compliance, digitalization, ease of paying taxes and ease-of-doing-business initiatives.

The BIR-PMSG now includes the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Management Association of the Philippines, Tax Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry, Association of Certified Public Accountants in Public Practice, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines, Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Makati Business Club, Alliance of Tech Innovators for the Nation, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce in the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Petroleum and the Swiss Chamber of the Philippines.