Iloilo taxis to issue receipts by October

All taxicabs here are expected to start issuing receipts by October, a move that assures passenger safety and more taxes to the government.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-6) Regional Director Porfirio Clavel said the receipts should include the name of the taxi, the fare, the date, contact number of the taxi and tax identification number.

Clavel discussed with the officers and members of the Association of Taxi Operators in Panay this new scheme on Monday.

Some taxi operators expressed reservations. No commercial establishment sells receipt-issuing taxi meters here.

A receipt-issuing taxi meter reportedly costs at least P16,000. This must also be registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Clavel said this new LTFRB policy will be implemented gradually so that taxi operators will not be unnecessarily pressured.

Under a BIR plan, taxi meters that print out receipts should have a memory feature to record the total monthly gross receipt of a cab.

The BIR targets to collect a three-percent gross from tax receipts.

This new scheme is projected to generate P2.2 billion in revenues to the government yearly.

Since 2007, taxi units at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in metro Manila have started using meters that issue receipts.

In October last year, cabs with receipt-issuing meters rolled out in Capiz, the first outside Metro Manila.

NIÑA JANE A. SOURIBIO, Panay News