The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) exceeded its collection target in October, raising P274.23 billion, surpassing the goal by 8.6 percent.
The October tax collection was 47 percent higher than the previous year.
BIR aims to promote tax compliance by intensifying enforcement efforts against sellers and buyers of fake receipts.
The agency is streamlining and digitizing core services to facilitate compliance.
The BIR's total collection for the first 10 months of the year stood at P2.132 trillion, an 11.1 percent increase compared to the previous year.
The BIR aims to collect P2.639 trillion in 2023 and needs to generate P507 billion in the final two months of the year to reach this target.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno expressed confidence in the BIR's ability to achieve collection targets in the medium term.
BIR's success is attributed to its nationwide enforcement operations and strict measures against tax evasion.
BIR collects P274 B, surpassing Oct. target
At a glance
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) announced that it surpassed its collection target last month, attributing the achievement to the strengthened enforcement efforts in tax compliance.
In a statement, BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said the bureau collected P274.23 billion in October this year, above by 8.6 percent against the P252.77 billion goal for the month.
Lumagui also said the October tax haul is 47 percent higher compared to P186.76 billion in the same month last year.
The BIR chief stated that by intensifying tax enforcement activities, specifically against sellers and buyers of fake receipts, and by streamlining and digitizing core services, the agency aims to encourage non-compliant taxpayers to fully comply with tax laws.
“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,” Lumagui said.
Last week, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said he was confident that the BIR, the government’s main tax agency, would hit its collection targets for the medium-term.
Diokno cited that the BIR was able to achieve a historic level of tax collection in recent years driven by the agency’s strict nationwide enforcement operations.
In particular, Diokno noted the BIR’s fight against illicit trade of cigarettes, vape, and other excisable articles, along with its national raids and the filing of criminal cases against offenders.
“The BIR has done extremely well in strengthening our country’s coffers by simplifying tax compliance through digitalization as well as combating tax evasion,” the finance chief said.
“I am confident that we will be able to reach or even exceed the collection targets set in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) for this year and until 2028 through the Bureau’s initiatives,” he added.
In the first 10-months of the year, the BIR’s total collection stood at P2.132 trillion, higher by 11.1 percent compared to P1.921 trillion in the same period last year.
The BIR is tasked to collect P2.639 trillion in 2023. To hit this target, the bureau needs to generate P507 billion in the final two months of the year.