THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has exceeded its October tax collection, attributing this to its nationwide enforcement and strict measures against tax evasion.
This progress means the government can somehow minimize its borrowings and more funds would be available for basic government services, according to Wendell Ganhinhin, partner and deputy head for tax compliance and advisory services at P&A Grant Thornton.
The BIR collected P274.429 billion (net of tax refund) in October this year, surpassing its collection target by 8.57 percent or P21.654 billion for the month. This collection is higher by 46.94 percent or P87.670 billion compared to tax collections for the same month last year.
“The Philippine economy posted a higher gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.9 percent in the third quarter of this year or a year-to-date GDP of 5.5 percent. Such growth contributed to the increased collections of the BIR... Other reasons were the effort of the BIR such as the campaign against fake receipts, digitalization of services, process improvements like the ISO, and other initiatives,” said Ganhinhin, on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023.
From January to October, the BIR’s total collection stood at P2.132 trillion (net of tax refund), which is higher by 11.11 percent or P213.214 billion compared to tax collections for the same period last year.
In a statement, the BIR credited this achievement to the strengthened tax enforcement activities, specifically on the campaign against sellers and buyers of fake receipts, and the continuous streamlining and digitization of the BIR’s core services.
“We hope to encourage all non-compliant taxpayers to comply fully with the provisions and requirements of the tax laws so we can attain, and even surpass, our annual collection target this year,” said BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr.
Ganhinhin added that Lumagui’s visibility in the business community, making a personal appeal to the taxpayers, also led to the increase in tax collection. The BIR intends to collect P2.639 trillion this year, higher by 12.99 percent or P303.500 billion than the actual collection in 2022.