BIR officials allegedly pocketed 70% of tax collections via LOAs

Senator JV Ejercito revealed that some Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officials allegedly pocketed 70 percent of collections made through Letters of Authority (LOA), with only 30 percent remitted to the government.

Ejercito stated that LOAs are official documents that permit revenue officers to conduct tax audits.

He cited reports indicating that some BIR revenue officers and regional directors are involved in this alleged corruption scheme.

The senator explained that the targeted revenue from LOAs was projected to be between P6 to P8 billion, but only P2 to P3 billion was actually collected.

Ejercito expressed dismay that instead of the government benefiting from the collected taxes, a significant portion was being embezzled by individuals within the agency.

He also noted that the scheme, which has been ongoing for two years, has led to harassment of local and foreign businessmen, including one victim who lost P10 million.