Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Sunday tax authorities would still go after social media influencers, even if they had deleted their social media accounts, to make sure they pay taxes to the government.
Reports said some media influencers have deleted their social media accounts following the government's recent announcement that they would be taxed because they earned money from their social media activities.
"We will still go after them whether or not they have a social media account because if they earned money, and we have evidence that they had money, they have to pay the tax. Everybody has to pay tax whatever the source of your income is," Dominguez said in an online briefing.
Finance Assistant Secretary Dakila Elteen Napao said based on Bureau of Internal Revenue data, 105 media influencers or content creators have already registered with the agency as of Sept. 15, 2021.
"We haven't got the information yet on how much taxes have been collected by the BIR from them so far," Napao said.
According to the BIR, influencers who earn money from their posts on digital media are classified as self-employed individuals or persons engaged in trade or business as sole proprietors.
Their earnings are generally considered as business income, as defined under BIR’s Revenue Memorandum Circular 97-2021 issued last Aug. 16.
The circular said social media influencers should pay income tax and percentage tax or, if applicable, the value-added tax, as mandated under the National Internal Revenue Code and other existing laws.
Social media influencers are defined as those who derive their income from YouTube Partner Program; sponsored social and blog posts; display advertising; becoming a brand representative/ambassador; affiliate marketing; co-creating product lines; promoting own products; photo and video sales; digital courses, subscriptions, e-books; and podcasts and webinars.
The circular said social media influencers who receive free goods in exchange for promotions must declare as income the fair market value of these products.
Income treated as royalties from another country, including payments under the YouTube Partner Program, shall likewise be included in the computation of the gross income of the socmed influencer and shall be subject to tax.
“It must be emphasized that the BIR also has the power to obtain information from foreign tax authorities pursuant to the Exchange of Information provision of the relevant tax treaties. The BIR has the means to verify their income as it is clothed with a special power to obtain information from its treaty partners. The BIR may safely rely on the data provided by its treaty partners to establish the influencer's tax liability,” the circular said.
It advised social media influencers to voluntarily and truthfully declare their income and pay their corresponding taxes without waiting for a formal investigation to be conducted by the BIR to avoid being liable for tax evasion and for the civil penalty of 50 percent of the tax or of the deficiency tax.
To avoid the risks of double taxation, the BIR advised influencers receiving income from a non-resident person residing in a country with which the Philippines has a tax treaty to inform the latter that they are residents of the Philippines, and are, therefore, entitled to claim treaty benefits provided under the relevant tax agreement.
The circular said social media influencers who “willfully attempt to evade the payment of tax or willfully fail to make a tax return, to supply accurate and correct information or to pay tax” shall, in addition to the payment of taxes and corresponding penalties, be held criminally liable under the Tax Code.