THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Negros initially collected about P11.2 billion in taxes last year, which is 17.31 percent higher than P9.56-billion collection in 2016.
BIR Revenue Region 12 Director Eduardo Pagulayan Jr. Monday told SunStar Bacolod that the P1.65 billion increase in tax collections can be attributed to the vibrant business climate in the island.
Pagulayan also cited the agency’s close monitoring coupled with strong appeal to tax payers to improve their level of tax compliance.
“No matter how we urge tax payers to efficiently perform their obligations, they cannot comply if the local business environment is not doing well,” he added.
BIR Region 12 covers revenue district offices in Bacolod City, Binalbagan town and Victorias City in Negros Occidental, Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, and Siquijor Province.
Through its 2017 Tax Campaign initiative, BIR has been tapping the support of stakeholders to reach its target collection of 12 percent last year.
Pagulayan said the initial figure comprises about 95 percent of the total collections of the agency for 2017.
BIR Region 12 is still collating the final collections for last year thus, “we are positive to reach the target P12.07 billion,” he added.
The BIR had earlier said that despite the effectivity of the new withholding tax table as provided by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law, the basis in filing the 2017 Income Tax Return (ITR) in April this year is still the old table.
The new tax reform law exempts some workers from paying income tax while increasing the excise tax on various products including fuel and sweetened beverages.
Under the new withholding tax table, workers earning P20,833 and below every month are exempted from paying income tax.
The Train law also reduces the tax for self-employed workers. From 10 to 15 percent, it should be lowered to eight percent.
Tax payers with dependents, on the other hand, are no longer exempted from tax.
Amid these changes, Pagulayan said they are still expecting an increase in tax collections this year.
“Despite the possible reduction in income tax collection, the agency can still have higher collections through excise tax on various products,” he added.