DO you own an online business or earn income from being a social media influencer? The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has intensified tax enforcement in online merchants and social media influencers. Even before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 55-2013 on Aug. 22, 2013, to clarify the taxability of digital transactions. Taxpayers' obligations in relation to online business transactions include online shopping or online retailing, online intermediary service, online advertisement/classified ads, and online auction.

With the popularity of social media influencers or influencer marketing from various social media platforms, the BIR's tax enforcement campaign is now focused on RMC 97-2021 issued on Aug. 16, 2021. It cited the tax obligations of all social media influencers in the RMC, including possible consequences of their failure to pay taxes. Social media influencers, other than corporations and partnerships, are classified, for tax purposes, "as self-employed individuals or persons engaged in trade or business as sole proprietors, and therefore, their income is generally considered as business income. Income derived by social media influencers could come from various sources: YouTube Partner Program; sponsored social and blog posts; display advertising; becoming a brand representative/ambassador; affiliate marketing; co-creating product lines; promoting own products; photo and video sales; digital courses, subscriptions, e-books; and podcasts and webinars."

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