DocTax uses AI to address MSME tax information gaps in the Philippines
Key Takeaways
- •MSMEs represented more than 99% of the Philippines’ 1.2 million business establishments in 2024, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.
- •DocTax’s AI assistant is designed around Philippine tax laws and references official issuances, court decisions and other legal documents.
- •Licensed tax professionals are available for complex or personalized questions at a cost of P300 to P500 per session.
- •DocTax was created from an idea by former Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Joel L. Tan-Torres and is operated by OneCFO Group.
- •The platform has exceeded 300 users since its April launch and is targeting at least 3,000 users by year-end.
By Almira Louise S. Martinez, Reporter
DOCTAX, a tax guidance platform created to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), is using artificial intelligence (AI) to make Philippine tax rules more accessible to business owners who may lack specialized tax advice.
“Most MSMEs don’t have the right resources or expertise to really navigate their finances, including taxation,” DocTax Managing Director Jay Olos told BusinessWorld in an interview.
“Most of the accountants hired by MSMEs are for tax compliance only; they do not guide them; that’s the sad reality,” he added.
MSMEs accounted for more than 99% of the country’s 1.2 million business establishments in 2024, according to data from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Microenterprises made up 91%, or 1.13 million establishments. Small businesses accounted for 8.6%, or 106,799 establishments, while medium enterprises represented 0.4%, or 4,633.
Mr. Olos said entrepreneurs looking for answers to tax-related questions often turn to online communities, where the information available may be inaccurate or unreliable.
“I see that there are Facebook communities where MSME owners ask questions and, sadly, they get the wrong advice,” he said. “Anyone can scam, and there are a lot of scammers. We all know that on Facebook.”
“I was also scammed on Facebook before… Because I wasn’t really a tax practitioner in the beginning, my forte is audit,” he added.
Bookkeeping and tax service company OneCFO Group created DocTax based on an idea from investor and board member Joel L. Tan-Torres, a former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner and chairman of the Board of Accountancy.
Mr. Olos said Mr. Tan-Torres’ experience highlighted the need for smaller businesses to have access to dependable tax information.
DocTax offers a free AI-powered tax assistant that provides information on tax rules and regulations. Its reference materials include BIR issuances, decisions from the Court of Tax Appeals and the Supreme Court, and other legal documents.
“We really wanted this to be like a ChatGPT for tax for MSMEs because while we do have ChatGPT, it is not trained on local tax laws and regulations,” Mr. Olos said. “You can ask anything tax-related, and it can give you not just answers, but also expert-led insights.”
“Our DocTax is really trained even for those documents that are not on the internet,” he added.
Users with more complex or personalized questions can be connected with licensed tax professionals. Sessions cost P300 to P500. The company also provides tax filing, computation and compliance services.
DocTax has attracted more than 300 users since its launch in April and is targeting at least 3,000 users by year-end, Mr. Olos said.
The platform is expanding as smaller businesses deal with tax obligations that can be difficult to understand without dedicated accounting and tax expertise. DocTax’s AI is intended to serve as an initial source of information for MSMEs, while licensed tax professionals handle questions requiring case-specific advice.
