Manila, Feb. 27 -- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is calling for the suspension and review of a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) rule requiring all cooperative members to obtain taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) before their cooperatives can qualify for tax exemptions.

During the Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on Thursday, Gatchalian argued that the rule, implemented under Revenue Memorandum Circulars (RMC) Nos. 76-2010 and 124-2020, contradicts the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 (Republic Act 9520) and imposes unnecessary compliance burdens on cooperatives, especially those composed of informal workers.

"The BIR's requirement creates confusion and makes it impractical for small cooperatives to comply. We need immediate a...