Charles Teves
Influencers are not exempted from paying taxes even if they delete their social media pages that generate revenue.
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Deputy Commissioner Marissa Cabreros, in an interview with tax expert Mon Abrea, urged content creators to pay their dues as failing to comply may result in further penalties and possibly land them behind bars.
“Closed or open, there is always a way for us to determine how much you have earned even though you are already off the air,” Cabreros said on August 23.
“‘Yung pumapasok sa bank account mo na mga payment, there is a way of tracing that one. There is a payor. There is YouTube, there is data, there is a paper trail.” she added.
Her call came after vlogger pair Jayzam Manabat and Camille Trinidad deleted their YouTube channel JaMill which had over 12 million followers. They decided to take down the channel following the BIR’s issuance of Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 97-2021.
Netizens have speculated that the BIR’s warning influenced the couple’s controversial decision, but both made it clear that they did it for their relationship.
