As the country is still grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large percentage of taxpayers said their incomes are going down, recent data from online tax filing and payment platform Taxumo showed.

The data showed that 67.1% of taxpayers on the platform declared a 49% decrease in their incomes.

The remaining 32.9% saw their incomes rise by 144%.

As a whole, incomes went downhill by 22.8%, with their total taxes remitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) at P11.3 million in 2021 compared to P14.6 million in 2020.

Analyzing the taxpayers’ declared incomes versus the definition set by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Taxumo found that poor taxpayers (earning less than P9,520 per month) decreased to 23% in 2021 from 28% in 2020.

Low-income (earning between P19,040 and P38,080 per month) and mid-middle income taxpayers (earning between P38,080 and P66,640 per month) taxpayers grew by 9.8% and 5%, respectively.

But rich taxpayers or those earning at least P190,400 per month, who made up 4.5% of Taxumo’s user base in 2020, disappeared in 2021.

The online tax platform also noted a significant drop in income for women users.

The data showed that women taxpayers declared a decrease in their income by 86%, indicative of the greater impact that the pandemic has had on them.

EJ Arboleda, founder and chief executive officer of Taxumo, said they are closely monitoring and adapting to the many changes brought about by the pandemic.

“Much as we’re happy to see some of our users’ incomes rise during these trying times, we’re still holding our breaths and hoping for the best for every Filipino entrepreneur and self-employed professional,” Arboleda said. – Rappler.com

Jezreel Ines is a Rappler intern. He is a third year journalism student at the University of the Philippines Diliman.