MANILA—Livestreamers who earn money on different social networks should also pay income taxes, a tax expert said Wednesday.

“I would always answer it with a general rule: if it is not excluded or exempted they are included. So even if livestreamers are not mentioned or any other individuals who are earning from their online transactions or activities, even if the digital platforms are not mentioned, they are also subject to this because the Tax Code is clear: for resident citizens like us, all our income from all sources within and outside the Philippines are taxable,” Asian Consulting Group chairman Mon Abrea said in an ANC interview.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Monday issued a memorandum circular emphasizing the tax obligations of social media influencers.

The bureau said it has received reports that "certain social media influencers have not been paying their income taxes, despite earning huge income from the different social media platforms."

Some influencers are also not registered with the BIR or are registered under a different line of business and have not been declaring their earnings, it added.

• BIR: ‘Certain’ influencers not paying income taxes, despite ‘huge’ earnings

In the interview, Abrea said content creators who are marginal income earners are exempted from paying income taxes as long as they register with the BIR.

"That’s why when we started educating our content creators, as they consider themselves in general, we remind them that it’s important that we understand the law because if you are not making or earning above P100,000, that remains exempted as a marginal income earner," he said.

“But the requisite is, you have to register. If you are not registered, then that is tax evasion,” he explained.

“If your projected sales or income exceeds P3 million, then you will be subject to VAT (value added tax). Otherwise, it’s non-VAT,” he added.

Abrea said all social media influencers are covered by the BIR’s memo regardless of the platform they use.

He said influencers may file their tax returns monthly or quarterly.

He said BIR district offices will lead the investigation should any influencer be flagged for a potential violation of the law.

--ANC, 18 August 2021