BIR exceeds target with P466 billion collection in first two months
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the government's main tax agency agency, collected P446.5 billion in the first two months of this year, surpassing its target by over 24 percent.
In a statement on Thursday, April 11, BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. announced that the agency's collections for January and February exceeded the P445 billion goal set for the period.
Additionally, the revenue collected during the two months posted a 24 percent growth compared to P359.09 billion in the same period in the previous year.
In January, the bureau collected over P308 billion in revenues while P137 billion was collected in February, based on data from the Bureau of the Treasury.
“With the continuing intensification of the Bureau’s tax enforcement activities, specifically on the campaign against sellers and buyers of fake receipts, and with our concerted efforts to deliver excellent service to taxpayers through our digitalization projects and ISO Certification of the BIR’s frontline processes, we hope to encourage and increase voluntary compliance from our taxpayers”, Lumagui said.
BIR is aiming to collect the bulk of revenues this year in April with the goal of P406 billion, up by 21 percent compared to the P336.02 billion collected in the same month a year earlier.
READ MORE: BIR targets record P406-billion collection in April
Of this amount, the BIR sets the highest collection for taxes on net-income and profits at P199 billion, value-added tax at P125 billion, and excise taxes at P29 billion.
Meanwhile, for this year, the bureau targets to collect a record-high P3.055 trillion, which is higher by 21.3 percent or P538.182 billion than the P2.53 collected trillion last year.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto urged to settle their taxes before the April 15 deadline, noting that it has now become easier due to policies such as the Ease of Paying Taxes Act wherein taxes can now be paid through online channels and authorized agent banks.
“The government has made sure that the filing and payment of taxes is now easier than ever so I urge everyone to be responsible in accomplishing this to avoid any penalties that may arise from failing to do so,” he said.
“You have an indispensable role to play in our nation’s progress. Our ability to steer the country forward is largely dependent on your cooperation,” he added.
The BIR also instructed these banks to operate beyond working days and extend banking hours to 5:00 PM until April 15 to accommodate more taxpayers and fast-track processing.
It also introduced additional channels for tax payments through e-wallets such as Maya and online payment portals like Landbank Link.BizPortal and MyEG––a provider of e-government solutions and payment services.
Based on the current data, the government aims to collect a total of P4.3 trillion in revenues this year, wherein the majority will come from BIR and the P1 trillion from the Bureau of Customs.
Further, it will target to collect over P7 trillion in revenues by the end of the Marcos administration.