Are OFW’s Really Not Required to File Income Tax Returns?

April 15 has always been headache for me from my years of being a slave junior auditor in Deloitte up to the years burning my seat as an accounting & finance professional in various companies. The BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and this horrendous date of the year have brought me either nightmares or sleepless nights. You should know what I mean.

Thank God I am now an OFW! I have somehow been freed from this April 15 curse. But am I really exempted from all these annual tax filing commotions?

The Revenue Regulation No. 1-2011 issued by the BIR defines that OFWs are exempt from paying income taxes for income earned abroad. However, the burden of proof is on the OFW’s themselves as they must show proof that they are registered as OCWs (overseas contract workers) or OFW’s with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and have a valid Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC).

So fellow OFWs, don’t lose those OEC’s! Continue reading Are OFW’s Really Not Required to File Income Tax Returns?

Arise, Philippines! – Snapshots of The Euromoney Philippine Investment Forum 2013

Happy Easter, Filipinos! God has blessed our Easter with enormous hope and confidence that the country will continue to arise from its long economic slumber.

The 2013 Euromoney Philippines Investment Forum held at the Peninsula Manila last March 12, 2013 was a major success. Testimonies are the snapshots taken by my friend and OFW UsapangPiso Forum advisor Carissa Patag of Abacus Securities Corporation as one of the 600 delegates to this year’s forum and the recent investment-grade rating driven by optimism that international investors have for the Philippines. Continue reading Arise, Philippines! – Snapshots of The Euromoney Philippine Investment Forum 2013

Mentoring and Learning at TutorHub – A Personal Review

Tutoring without the proper and tested tools is not easy. As a student, finding the right tutor from just any site isn’t even cool.

There are a lot of students and even ordinary people who want to get credible responses or answers for their school assignments from expert tutors. And they are willing to pay the most reasonable amount to someone who can help them out easily.

TutorHub is an online community site where Tutors and Students meet to help each other on courseworks, homeworks, and exams. Students ask questions and finds their own tutors that they believe will give them the best answers. Likewise, tutors can create their own profiles to advertise themselves and their services to students. What’s great with Tutorhub is that they provide the necessary tools and technology to make the mentoring more comfortable and effective for both tutors and students. Continue reading Mentoring and Learning at TutorHub – A Personal Review