The long standing tax dispute between the Makati City government and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is coming closer to an end, as the local government agreed to settle its tax obligations to the government on a staggered basis.

Atty. Kenneth Dasal, Makati city legal officer, said former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) chief Joel Tan-Torres and city government have entered to an agreement on the settlement of the tax obligations and it would now be up to the new chief of the BIR to honor the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Makati will pay a total of P400 million, with P200 million to be paid “as soon as possible upon execution of the compromise agreement and other necessary documents.”

The balance of P100 million will be paid in 2011 and the remaining P100 million in 2012.

A payment form in the amount of P200 million had been signed by the former BIR chief, along with Makati City administrator Marjorie De Veyra and Makati Revenue district officer Teodoro Galicia, he stressed.

“We had reached an agreement with the former BIR chief, and we are hopeful that Commissioner Henares will uphold the agreement,” Dasal said.

With the new administration, Dasal said they are confident that the BIR would use its authority fairly and judiciously, noting that in the past, the authority was used apparently as a tool to harass the opposition, of which former Makati Mayor and now Vice President Jejomar C. Binay was a leading personality.