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BusinessMirror Tuesday, April 16, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 182
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REMITTANCES RISE, BUT
SAVINGS STATIC—BSP By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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EMITTANCES sent home by overseas Filipinos abroad continued to increase in February 2024 but their savings and investments remained at pandemic levels, according to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
BSP data showed cash remittances rose to $2.65 billion in February 2024 from the $2.57 billion posted in February 2023. Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) Executive Director Jeremaiah M. Opiniano told BusinessMirror this is the highest level of remittances sent in February. “Cash remittance levels have recovered from the pandemic. And yet it seems that the lessons of losing money and being more spendthrift during crisis situations have yet to sink in, or may take time to sink in to the behaviors of foreign remittancereceiving households,” Opiniano, however, told BusinessMirror. See “Remittances,” A
TAX TALK Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) assists a taxpayer on the last day of filing taxes at the Revenue Region No. 8B-South NCR office in Makati City. Lumagui noted that 95 percent of taxpayers have already filed their Income Tax Returns (ITRs), and the bureau is eagerly awaiting the remaining 5 percent of annual tax return submissions. NONIE REYES
PHL ‘SERIOUSLY CONCERNED’ BIR expects to hit ₧198-B OVER ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT goal from net income tax By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig
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HE Philippines joined the international community on Monday in voicing its apprehension over the increasing tension between Israel and Iran. On Saturday night, Iran launched over 350 bomb drones and missiles over Israeli targets in retaliation for the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria last week. “The Philippines expresses its serious concern over the increasing tensions between Israel and Iran.
“We urge all parties to refrain from escalating the situation and to work towards a peaceful resolution of their conflict. “The Philippines has long advocated for all states to adhere to the principles of international law and to the peaceful settlement of disputes,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. There are around 30,000 Filipinos in Israel and 2,000 in Iran. However, if the Israel-Iran war expands to the Middle East, it might affect the employment of more than 1 million Filipino workers in the region. See “PHL,” A
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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NTERNAL Revenue Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. expressed confidence that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will hit its target of raising the P198 billion from taxes on net income and profit to be collected this month on the back of strict enforcement on fake receipts and digitalization efforts. At a press briefing on Monday, Lumagui said the collection goal of BIR in April is set at P405.948 billion, of which a total of P198.803 billion will be generated from income taxes. “We’re expecting that we will be able to meet [those targets],” Lumagui said.
The BIR commissioner noted that to reach these collection goals, the Bureau stepped up its “Run After Fake Transactions” enforcement program, which has been deemed effective in curbing tax leakages from fake receipts that businesses use to avail themselves of tax deductions. Lumagui said the BIR received feedback that more companies have halted resorting to this modus and chose to comply with the Bureau. Among the 4 million filers of the 2023 Annual Income Tax Return (AITR) nationwide, Lumagui said 95 percent of filers had already logged while it expect the remaining 5 See “BIR,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES Q US 56.4700 Q JAPAN 0.3689 Q UK 70.3164 Q HK 7.2053 Q CHINA 7.8027 Q SINGAPORE 41.5129 Q AUSTRALIA 36.5079 Q EU 60.0671 Q KOREA 0.0409 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.0567 Source: BSP (April 15, 2024)