The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has failed to meet its collection target for the month of October, statistics prepared by the bureau's collection service showed.
Based on the data, the BIR only collected P171 billion for the month of October, which is P16 billion short of the P187 billion target last month.
Reliable revenue officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the deficits might still be reduced when all collection reports for the month come in.
Some revenue officials attributed the deficits to non-tax compliance, as the agency continues to suspend the issuance of letter of authority (LA) to investigate
BIR Commissioner Lilia Catris Guillermo has not signed LAs since she assumed the post, pending the completion of the digital, or faceless audit program as practiced in Singapore, the United States other other developed countries.
"Apparently, the non-LA issuance has emboldened dishonest taxpayers not declare all their earnings to reduce tax payments," one source said.
The same source noted that while the bureau generates only three percent of its annual total take from investigation "it encourages taxpayers to be more truthful in their income declaration to avoid serious consequences in the future like paying stiff fines, or worst charge with tax evasion."
Records showed the large taxpayers service (LTS) which handles the investigation of some 3,000 multinationals and big corporations registered the highest deficits of P12 billion, garnering only P108 billion for October against the goal of P120 billion.
Many of the bureau's 22 regional offices showed good collection performance for the same month with the South National Capital Region (NCR) topping the list, followed by Cebu, East NCR, and Caloocan.
The South NCR generated total take of P13 billion against the goal of P11 billion.