Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Online site data shows PH freelancers are major taxpayers, with P7.8M paid

Web-based tax filing and payment platform Taxumo has released a report showing that it has processed P7.8-million worth of tax filings to date since its launch in December 2016, primarily from Filipino freelancers. 

Sourcing from data collected from Taxumo’s userbase, 55% of the total amount collected came from freelancers, showing the fast-rising contribution of this segment to the Philippine economy.

The study also noted that Millennials dominate the online taxpayer population on the platform at 75.9%, distantly followed by Gen Z and Pre-Boomers, Boomers, and Generation X at 19.6% and 4.5%, respectively.

In terms of tax forms, 1701Q (Quarterly Income Tax) and 2551Q (Quarterly Percentage Tax) were the ones that were filed the most as of April 2019.

As per industry, 22% of the top tax contributions have been classified under Other Service Activities, followed by Other Computer Related Activities (8.66%), and coming in third would be those working in Life Insurance (6.47%).

Meanwhile, the remaining percentage of Taxumo’s tax filers were comprised of sole proprietors, whose top 3 contributors belong in the service, retail and software development activities.

Also, the data shows that the top Regional District Offices (RDOs) with the greatest tax contributions are from Taguig which collected a little more than P1.5 million, Pasig City with a little less of P600,000, and Paranaque receiving around P500,000.

On the other hand, leading the pack for the most filings were those based in Paranaque, followed by Taguig, and closely trailed by the filers listed under North Quezon City.

Since its launch, Taxumo said it has grown to over 12,000 users in its platform, with filings starting from a meager P12,611.89, to garnering a tax filing average of P3.4 million alone in 2019 (as of April 15, 2019.) All in all, there has been a 609% growth in terms of user growth from the start of year 2018, up until March of 2019.

The company said despite initial prediction that the majority of the platform’s tax filers would come from the earnings of business enterprises, it was a surprising and welcome discovery that a growing number of Taxumo’s tax filers consist of freelancers (consultants, writers, virtual assistants, etc.)

Freelance video editor and Taxumo user Steven Sune said: ?It is very important because our tax returns is the only way self-employed professionals can prove that we have a steady flow of income. We don’t have a certificate of employment, payslips and the like and most of the time you need to prove a steady income when applying for a visitor visa, credit cards, and loans. The ITR is the only way we can prove that we are earning”.

The report paints a more positive picture of the fast-growing freelance workforce who are proving to be more empowered and accountable with their finances, starting with becoming registered with the BIR and filing their taxes diligently. 

 “These figures have definitely helped us affirm our role further in enabling freelancers and SMEs to ‘get legit’ and stress less about taxes. We are continuously improving our services, by ultimately working towards automating the whole tax process. This is aligned with our mission of helping many more Filipinos start and grow their own businesses,” said EJ Arboleda, founder and CEO of Taxumo.

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