Jump to full article: Business Mirror (ph), 2009-11-17
Author: Nation Written by Fernan Marasigan / Reporter
Intro: LEGISLATORS on Tuesday warned the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) against signing the P18-billion revenue-stamp contract with a leading global provider of security ink and solutions for the authentication of bank notes, value documents and products, saying the proposal could trigger the imposition of additional taxes on the public.
At the hearing of the House ways and means committee on Tuesday, legislators also questioned the contract cost that increased from P13 billion to P18 billion in a matter of three years since the proposal was first submitted to the BIR.
Sicpa Products Security SA Director Hans Schwab blamed inflation for the P5 billion cost adjustment from 2006 to 2009.
Liberal Party Rep. Liwayway Vinzons-Chato of Camarines Sur aired strong misgivings about Sicpa’s claim that the revenue-stamp technology they are offering would address “illicit” cigarette trade that has cost the government several billions of pesos in unrealized revenues.
Chato recalled that during her term as internal-revenue commissioner, she sent a team of experts to the United States to study the fuson stamp system as a means of determining taxes on cigarette products.
“The group did not recommend the attachment of fuson on stamps because there was no clear indication as to increase in collection in taxes and so-called leakages,” Chato said.
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