The Department of Finance (DOF) said Tuesday it will implement a crypto-asset framework aimed at combating cross-border tax evasion and illicit financial flows.
The move aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s agenda of improving fiscal discipline through efficient and transparent tax administration, it said.
“We need faster and stronger systems for collaboration if we are to beat tax evasion and illicit transactions,” said Finance Secretary Ralph Recto.
“This is a timely commitment as digital currency becomes one of the preferred means for transactions. The government must ensure that crypto-asset users are paying their fair share of taxes and that no illicit financial activity goes unpunished,” he said.
DOF Revenue Operations Group Undersecretary Charlito Martin Mendoza signified the commitment to execute the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2028 during the 8th Asia Initiative Meeting in Malé, Maldives.
The meeting was hosted and co-chaired by Commissioner General of the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority Hassan Zareer and Chairman of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia Eduard Hakobyan.
The CARF institutionalizes the framework for the reporting and automatic exchange of information related to crypto-assets between tax authorities for tax compliance purposes.
The Philippines joins 67 other jurisdictions, including 10 in Asia, already committed to implementing the CARF by 2027 or 2028.
The DOF also shared the country’s experience in adopting the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC), a comprehensive multilateral instrument for administrative cooperation between signatories in the assessment and collection of taxes.
The DOF briefed participants on administrative reforms to strengthen the exchange of information (EOI) on request, steps taken to prepare for the Enhanced Monitoring Process, and efforts to adopt the Common Reporting Standards.
The meeting also launched the 2025 Tax Transparency in Asia Report, which outlines the progress made by Asian jurisdictions in implementing and effectively using tax transparency standards throughout 2024.
The Philippines joined the Asia Initiative in 2023, which promotes the implementation of internationally agreed-upon standards on transparency and EOI, and the use of these standards to tackle tax evasion and other illicit financial flows.
Adhering to these tax transparency standards is crucial, with at least 24 billion euros in additional revenue identified from 2009 to 2024 through EOI requests, offshore investigations, Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI), and related voluntary disclosure programs.
In 2024 alone, at least 1.9 billion euros were identified through EOI requests (1.7 billion euros) and AEOI (around 200 million euros).
