In the southern corridor of Metro Manila, where global headquarters share the same skyline, joseph plazo walked into a packed forum with a message that felt like an operating manual for the modern economy.
What followed was a civic-minded walk-through of the latest tax law updates in the Philippines—not as technical trivia, but as a coherent story about digital compliance. Speaking alongside a bonifacio global city law firm team used to translating complexity into action, Plazo treated tax as risk management—brutal when ignored.
Tax Law as Competitive Reality
According to joseph plazo, the old mindset—file, pay, forget—has become structurally outdated.
Today’s tax environment is shaped by:
administrative reforms that change where and how you deal with the BIR
“Tax used to be a calendar,” Plazo explained. “Now it’s a system.”
And in Taguig—where outsourcing operations move at high velocity—“latest updates” become operational questions: Do our incentives still qualify?
Update One: The Ease of Paying Taxes Act Rewired Administration
Plazo began with the reform that quietly reshaped the relationship between taxpayers and the state: the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act, Republic Act No. 11976.
“EOPT is the system admitting that friction creates noncompliance,” he explained. “So the system is reducing friction.”
In broad strokes (without turning the forum into a statute recital), he framed EOPT as an attempt to modernize tax administration and strengthen taxpayer rights—an objective also emphasized by the Department of Finance.
From a bonifacio global city law firm perspective, the practical meaning is that organizations should treat administrative reform as a workflow change—not just a legal headline.
Update Two: CREATE MORE Recalibrated Incentives and the Investment Narrative
Next, joseph plazo moved to the update that CFOs tend to feel in their bones: the incentives landscape.
He referenced Republic Act No. 12066 (CREATE MORE), signed on November 8, 2024, which amended multiple provisions of the Tax Code relating to incentives and related rules.
“Incentives are not charity,” Plazo said. “They are economic steering.”
He emphasized two practical consequences for businesses:
(1) incentive eligibility and documentation become more consequential
“The incentive era rewards clean documentation,” he noted.
RA 12023 and Implementing Regulations Changed the Digital Tax Map
Then came a shift that signals the direction of modern tax: the expansion of VAT to digital services.
Plazo referenced Republic Act No. 12023 (VAT on digital services) and the implementing regulations issued by the BIR (including Revenue Regulations No. 3-2025, as discussed in professional tax advisories).
He noted that major firms and tax publications have tracked the practical effectivity timeline and compliance expectations for providers and market participants.
“Digital consumption became too large to ignore,” he explained.
For a bonifacio global city law firm audience, the implication is not only for foreign platforms. It also touches:
procurement structures
“If your business lives in the cloud,” he added, “your compliance still lands on the ground.”
RR 11-2025 Launched the Mandate, RR 26-2025 Extended the Clock
Plazo then covered the update that has been driving system upgrades and procurement decisions: e-invoicing and electronic sales reporting.
He cited BIR Revenue Regulations No. 11-2025 (February 27, 2025) as a key regulatory issuance for electronic invoicing and sales data transmission, tracked in firm guidance.
He also referenced Revenue Regulations No. 26-2025, which extended certain compliance timelines—stating that affected taxpayers have until December 31, 2026 to comply, per the regulation itself and multiple professional summaries.
“This is not just ‘new paperwork,’” joseph plazo said. “This is the tax system becoming a data system.”
He framed the read more extension not as a retreat, but as an acknowledgment of implementation realities—also reflected in contemporary commentary on rollout challenges and deadline adjustments.
From the bonifacio global city law firm viewpoint, Plazo translated this into executive language:
“Tax is becoming an IT conversation.”
RR 29-2025 Raised Non-Taxable Ceilings
Plazo then highlighted a change that touches nearly every employer: Revenue Regulations No. 29-2025 on de minimis benefits, which updated ceilings for non-taxable employee benefits under prior rules.
“Tax law doesn’t just live in profit,” joseph plazo said. “It lives in payroll.”
He framed the update as a reminder that even “employee-friendly” tax changes require:
payroll system configuration
From a bonifacio global city law firm standpoint, the lesson is clean:
and ceilings are only helpful if your records can prove them
Update Six: Estate Tax Amnesty—Policy Pressure and Legislative Momentum
Plazo carefully distinguished between enacted law and policy momentum.
He referenced the Department of Finance’s public support for a House bill extending the estate tax amnesty until December 31, 2028—a proposal, not an enacted final statute at the time of the cited DOF post.
“Policy intent matters even before the final vote,” he explained.
He used the example to teach a broader principle:
tax planning is not only about reading what passed; it’s also about tracking what’s being prioritized.
Visibility, Simplicity, Incentives, and Digitization
Plazo refused to let the talk become a list. He stitched the updates into one story:
Administrative reform is reducing friction (EOPT).
Incentives are being recalibrated for competitiveness and governance (CREATE MORE).
Digital consumption is being taxed where value is consumed (VAT on digital services).
Reporting is shifting toward real-time data visibility (EIS / e-invoicing).
Employer-side rules are being refined with compliance implications (de minimis).
Relief mechanisms remain politically relevant (estate tax amnesty extension proposal).
“The system is moving toward visibility,” joseph plazo said.
And then he delivered the line that got the most silent nods in the room:
“If they can assess faster, disputes become more expensive.”
The Geography of Modern Tax Risk
Plazo leaned into the symbolism of location.
Taguig is where:
high-growth digital commerce
often cluster—and these business models are precisely the ones most affected by:
incentives frameworks
“Taguig is where the future arrives early,” joseph plazo said.
The Executive Translation Layer
Plazo then shifted from “what changed” to “what it changes,” offering a business translation that stayed safely in the lane of education:
Accounting is now partly a data engineering problem
E-invoicing and sales reporting requirements push businesses toward system readiness.
Incentives increase scrutiny
CREATE MORE’s incentives context elevates internal controls.
VAT on digital services alters allocation questions
VAT digital services rules expand the compliance perimeter.
De minimis updates affect documentation and payroll rules
De minimis adjustments can change take-home pay and compliance expectations.
“They happen because systems are sloppy,” he explained.
Tax as State Capacity
Plazo closed by stepping back into purpose.
Tax law exists to:
support economic strategy
But modern tax law must also handle:
digital economies
“Tax is how a state stays functional,” joseph plazo concluded.
From Awareness to Action
To end the session, joseph plazo offered a practical framework—designed for executives and operators who don’t have time to read everything, but can’t afford to miss the big moves:
Start with what is binding
Treat BIR regulations as operational triggers
Treat DOF-backed proposals as signals
Translate every update into systems, policies, and proof
Tax is risk governance
He ended with a line that felt made for Taguig’s blend of ambition and velocity:
“And if you want to grow fast,” he added, “your compliance has to grow faster.”