In what appears to be a first in the country, online tax filing and payment platform Taxumo has announced that it now accepts cryptocurrency for tax payments.
There is a growing community of Filipinos interested in cryptocurrencies. A 2021 Fintech Magazine article has dubbed the Philippines as one of the world’s fastest adopters. Meanwhile, it is reported that 4.3 million Filipinos, or 4% of the population, own some form of cryptocurrency.
This burgeoning movement has attracted the attention of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Commenting on the popularity of play-to-earn cryptocurrency-based game Axie Infinity, BIR deputy commissioner for legal group Marissa O. Cabreros reminded this August that players who earn income must pay taxes. Department of Finance undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko echoed this statement, saying that “gains from cryptocurrency are subject to tax”.
To help SMEs and artists with their tax duties, Taxumo, through its partnership with payment solutions company Dragonpay, has begun accepting cryptocurrency as a method of payment for tax dues, as well as subscription upgrades within the Taxumo platform.
Once users check out on the Taxumo platform and see the payment options presented, they simply need to select “Cryptocurrency” as the preferred payment channel. Then, users can select from the available cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or Tether (USDT.)
Upon proceeding, the billing summary will show the peso amount to be billed, and its equivalent amount in whichever cryptocurrency users will select. The conversion rate will be shown on the bottom of the screen, which is locked for 25 minutes and will not be affected with any page refresh as the session is retained.
Currently, this payment method is available for payment transactions that are less than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.)
