BIR expands list of audit targets

Aside from the self-employed and professionals, the taxman will also keep a watchful eye on business owners who are engaged in high-traffic operations and those that involve expensive goods. 

In Revenue Memorandum Order No. 4-2013, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares laid out guidelines on which taxpayers are being prioritized for audit. 

Included in the priority list are businesses related to wrist watches and jewelry, petroleum fuels like gasoline, real estate, contractors that deal with government entities (including state firms) and wholesalers and retailers in general. 

continuation ---> http://business.inquirer.net/113385/bir-expands-list-of-audit-targets

BIR targets tax-evading, self-employed professionals

As I was researching articles about Tax Consulting Philippines, an article from GMA News about self-employed professionals caught my attention. It says that Bureau of Internal Revenue aims to make self-employed professional pay their taxes. Cabinet officials said Monday, warning that authorities will pursue and make cheats pay what is due to the state.

BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares told reporters in a tax forum in Quezon City that -  "There is no excuse in not paying taxes"

At the same forum, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima noted the “need for compliance in laws across the board.

"Non-payment of taxes is a crime, it's robbing the people of funds for social and infrastructure programs,” said Purisima.

According to Bureau of Internal Revenue estimates, ratio of self-employed, business professionals (SEP) to individual tax collections have gone down to 6.8 percent last year from 8.0 percent in 2009.

read more ---> http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/299842/economy/finance/bir-targets-tax-evading-self-employed-professionals

Registering a business name in the Philippines

Business Registration Philippines

Your business name is your identity, so it is essential to set up it in the early stages of your business. The majority of businesses are legally mandatory to register their business name in order to operate in the Philippines. DTI is the primary government department assigned to assist the formation of a business environment which deal with areas such as commerce, domestic and international trade, industries and investments that generate jobs and increase incomes for Filipinos. DTI also administer the Philippine business registration of company and trade names that a participant proposed to be listed. Business name is what you will always use when dealing with your clients or customers. It is the name that will be declared in your certificates of registration with different agencies, in your official receipts and invoices, in your contracts and in other business forms.

Prior to your registration, you must  determine what type of business you want to establish. For a single proprietorship business, it is necessary that you secure a certificate of registration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). If you’re establishing a partnership or a corporation, you should first register your company with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). After securing a SEC certificate of registration, list your business name with the DTI to guarantee that no other individuals or organizations would register a name similar to yours.

Philippines Business Registration reminders: Names which cannot be registered with DTI:

1. The same or confusingly similar with an existing business name
2. Prior registered names with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Intellectual Property Office (IPO)
3. Immoral sounding
4. Words which are indecent, immoral and prohibited in nature
5. Names used by the government in its official non-proprietary functions
6. The words: Company, Limited, Associates, Sons, Groups, Philippines, nation, state, barangay, Metro Manila, Philippines International, CALABARZON, and ASEAN, etc.
7. Bargain, Discount or similar words
8. Full name of another person (except when it is part of a duly registered business name, sells or transfers the business name)
9. Names of any nation, intergovernmental or international society unless authorized by the competent authority of such (UN, UNESCO, etc.)
10. Names which misinterpret the nature of the business
11. Generic terms
12. Names, words, terms or expressions suggestive of quality of any class of goods, articles, merchandise, or service
13. The word Industry (except when engaged in manufacturing, processing, and farming) 

source: dtincr.ph

Argentine Jorge Bergoglio elected pope, chooses name Francis

VATICAN CITY—Argentine Jorge Bergoglio has been elected pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Pope Francis. 

Pope Francis appeared on the balcony over St. Peter’s Square to wild cheers from the crowd below. 

Known until Wednesday as Jorge Bergoglio, the 76-year-old is known as a humble man who denied himself the luxuries that previous Buenos Aires cardinals enjoyed. He came close to becoming pope last time, reportedly gaining the second-highest vote total in several rounds of voting before he bowed out of the running in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Francis—the first Jesuit pope—has spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina.

 continuation ---> http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/373313/argentinian-cardinal-is-new-pope

Google Glass Ban Gets Bar Big Publicity

An update from Google.

The augmented reality Google Glass eye wear isn't even available yet, but already a bar in Seattle has banned customers from using the futuristic headset due to privacy concerns.

The 5 Point Café in Cedar Street, which is referred to as a "dive bar", claims to be the first Seattle business to ban Google Glasses in advance via a post on Facebook, which said "ass kickings will be encouraged for violators."

The post has gained over 400 likes and 150 comments so far, most of which chastise the 5 Point Cafe for its decision and assert that it can't ban Google Glass without banning smartphones as well, as they too have video capabilities.

continuation ---> http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2253986/Google-Glass-Ban-Gets-Bar-Big-Publicity

Bureau of Internal Revenue sets guidelines on taxing liquor manufacturers

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has set the guidelines on taxing liquor manufacturers in so far as ethyl alcohol is concerned.

In a memorandum circular, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said the importation of ethyl alcohol or ethanol intended for re-sale or for the manufacture of compounded liquors shall be subject to excise tax unless the importer is a holder of a permit to operate as importer of ethyl alcohol, duly issued by the bureau and has posted a surety bond.

Commissioner Henares said the amount of the surety bond shall be equivalent to the average total value of ethyl alcohol for a two-month period computed by the estimated total value of ethyl alcohol imported during the year divided by six months. This shall be the value used by the BIR in determining the tariff and customs duties.

 continuation ---> http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/03/11/918132/bir-sets-guidelines-taxing-liquor-manufacturers

Building Your Brand on Social Media Sites

1. Use your brand/company name as your Social Media Profile Name – Take this advantage! Most of the companies are just using unique names instead of their brand/company names (they think it’s appealing)

2. Use brand/company logo as your display picture - Make your logo visibly popular not just your brand/company. Your logo represents your personal brand, and as with any brand, consistency is key! Help people come to recognize you and “see you everywhere” by using the same great logo on all platforms.

3. Post/share useful information – Readers like to read good articles that are useful, funny, interesting and appealing.

4. Use catchy title – Title will make or break whether or not the reader’s interest will be captured so they will want to take a closer look. You can use number, interesting adjectives, brave promise and unique rationale when formulating your title. (“20 Amazing Ways You Can Bathe an Elephant Indoors”)

5. Video Posting - Videos provide a dynamic, interactive experience of understanding a post. It can communicate more necessary data in a much shorter time. The viewer does not have to read long texts or jump between pages. Instead, he or she gets "fed" precisely the data you want to convey.

6. Participate and interact so people will get to know your brand – Participating in social media sites helps you build good online presence as you represent your brand/company. You create a persona for your online presence - Investopedia defines brand personality as "A set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name." A brand personality is something to which the consumer can relate, and a valuable brand will increase its brand equity by having a consistent set of traits. This is the added value that a brand gains, aside from its functional benefits.

Bonifacio Global City safest place to invest

One of the interesting articles this week that I've read was from Business Inquirer post. They mentioned about one of the fastest growing business place in Taguig - The Global Bonifacio City

According to experts, Bonifacio Global City is the safest place to invest.

The movements happening in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig’s premier central business district, has captured the Philippine real estate industry’s imagination. In recent years, there has been a tectonic shift in the local and foreign business sectors’ choice of prime location. Property analysts say this may just be the beginning of even grander things for the former army and military camp. 

A key event—the opening of the Philippine Stock Exchange at the BGC in 2016—may signal the heightened transfer of more prime international offices and headquarters to this satellite city. 

David Leechiu, Jones Lang La Salle country head, told reporters in a Makati presscon March 5, “I have always said for the last six years that Bonifacio is the safest place to invest in real estate. Land prices there are 30 percent higher now than in Makati. The volume of transactions in Bonifacio is 10 times bigger than transactions in Makati. In fact, there hasn’t been an asset traded on Ayala Avenue for the last seven years.” 

continuation --->  http://business.inquirer.net/111407/bgc-safest-place-to-invest-say-experts