CLARENCE PEN: Taxing Online Influencers

In a public affairs program on a TV station, I had my motivation to listen to the discussion with a guest- lawyer as a resource person.

It focused on the issue that social media influencers who make profit from online engagements be subjected to income taxes because of reports that some social media influencers are not registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue or are registered under different tax types or line of business. They are also not declaring their earnings from social media platforms for tax purposes.

I tried to do a research on memorandum circulars of the BIR and I learned that last August 16 they had already this document. This circular is therefore issued to clarify the tax obligations of all social media influencers, individual or corporation, with the end goal of raising revenues from their undeclared income and at the same time, reminding them of their obligations under the law and on the possible consequences of their failure to pay taxes, according to the.

BIR related the term “social media influencers” in application as taxpayers, individuals or corporations receiving income, in cash or in kind, from any social media sites and platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, etc., “in exchange for services performed as bloggers, video bloggers or vloggers or as an influencer, in general, and from any other activities performed on such social media sites and platforms”.

The social media influencers are advised to “voluntary 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 fifty percent (50%) of the tax or of the deficiency tax.

I perceive the BIR is making an effort now that with this pandemic, it badly needs other alternatives to raise revenues, even online engagement, because in a sense, the general rule is, making a profit inside our Philippine territory is taxable.*