MANILA - The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has a total of 49 projects in the first phase of its 10-year Digital Transformation (DX) Roadmap, of which 14 have already been launched or implemented as of the last quarter of 2021. In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the BIR said 26 of the 49 DX projects involve "elevating taxpayer experience and innovating BIR service processes," nine are on "enhancing administration and the BIR's support services," another eight are on "aligning policies to a BIR digital workplace," and six more are on "enabling the digital backbone" of the Bureau. The BIR said its ongoing DX programs, which have expanded the range of electronic payment channels that allow taxpayers to file and pay their taxes online, enabled the bureau to continue collecting taxes even amid the mobility restrictions that have been put in place during the pandemic. In 2020, the share of tax payments from e-payment channels amounted to PHP1.66 trillion, or 85 percent of its total collection of PHP1.95 trillion. Dominguez has ordered all agencies attached to the Department of Finance (DOF) to implement their respective digital transformation programs long before the pandemic. Among the DX projects already launched or implemented by the BIR include its Internal Revenue Integrated System (IRIS), which serves as the bureau's central tool and repository to process taxpayer information; and the Enhanced Internal Revenue Stamps Integrated System (IRSIS), which is an application that manages the ordering, production, distribution, affixing and tracking of revenue stamps to monitor the proper payment of excise taxes on tobacco products. The BIR also has a single hotline number and its chatbot "REVIE" on its website to assist taxpayers with general inquiries on top of being able to email the bureau regarding their concerns. Both the hotline and chatbot projects were launched last June. The BIR has also put in place its Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS), Electronic Fund Transfer Instructions System (eFTIS), and other e-payment channels to allow taxpayers to pay taxes online. In 2020, the BIR recorded 447,188 ePayers, representing an increase of 472 percent or 369,070 taxpayers when compared to the number of ePayers in 2015 who totaled just 78,118. The BIR has made e-payment channels such as GCash, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) ePayment System, and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) PayTax Online System available to taxpayers since 2017. From 2019 to 2020, the BIR added Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) online, PesoNet, and PayMaya as e-payment channels. Only 43 percent of the total number of tax returns were filed electronically in 2015 through BIR's eFPS and eBIRForms System. In 2020, about 94 percent of the tax returns were already filed electronically. From the 1.91 million e-payment transactions made with the bureau in 2015, this number rose to 4.01 million electronic payment transactions in 2020, representing an increase of 110 percent. The BIR is also implementing other digitalization projects to improve its services, including: eAppointment - an online or digital medium accessible at the BIR website that taxpayers may use to book or request for schedule of meeting/conference with revenue officers/officials regarding matters on taxation; Online application for Tax Clearance for Bidding Purposes (TCBP) and Tax Compliance Verification Certificate (TCVC), which enable taxpayers to file applications for tax clearance for bidding purposes and TCVC online through the use of email facility that will forward said applications to the concerned revenue office; Online survey feedback system, which is an online system developed to get feedback from taxpayers on the quality of services being rendered by BIR frontline offices; Special types of registration (new business registration or newbizreg portal), which is an electronic registration portal that lets taxpayers submit their applications for business registration through email; TIN verifier mobile application, which is the mobile chat application available to public for their taxpayer identification number (TIN) inquiries and verification; Asset Information Management Program (AIMP) Phase 2, which is a system that enhances data-sharing with other government agencies to build-up taxpayer asset database to aid in tax administration and tax policy analysis; and the Electronic One-Time Transaction System (eONETT System), which is a system that enables taxpayers to transact their ONETT online anytime, anywhere. (PR) }