MANILA (PNA) –- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday asked market vendors, "sari-sari" (variety) stores and even taxi drivers to issue receipts.

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said under the national internal revenue code, a vendor selling goods worth P25 needs to issue a receipt.

"We need to have rules that make compliance for these people easy, at the same time, that's the law and they should comply with it,” Henares told reporters during an ambush interview at the BIR main office in Quezon City.

“So we're looking at how this can be done and we've already discussed that in our management committee meeting about how market vendors are required and should be issuing receipts," Henares said. adding that the revenue office is is taking bigger steps to plug tax leakages.

Henares said BIR’s focus will be on intensifying enforcement activities by filing tax evasion charges, simplifying and making compliance costs lower, and instituting internal reforms "to make sure that every centavo goes to the national treasury."

Poor tax collections have widened the budget deficit in the first six months to P 196.7 billion, already exceeding the government estimate of P 178.5 billion for the period, with the government unable to sell big-ticket state assets worth some P30 billion.

Henares that aside from targeting tax evaders, the BIR will also go after its own erring employees and officials, with formal charges to be made in the next two to three weeks. (PNA)