Government sets BIR target for 2003

Budget Secretary Emilia T. Boncodin said yesterday that the 2003 target collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will definitely be higher than the P442-billion target for 2002, "but it will not exceed P500 billion."

She said the adjustment was made after the Cabinet decided to revise the 2003 budget deficit target from P98.6 billion to P138 billion. This year’s budget deficit target is P130 billion.

Boncodin said that the new 2003 target factored in continued control on expenditures without any cuts in the proposed 2003 national budget. "We will manage expenditure."

The budget secretary, who also chairs the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC), said that the collection targets of BIR would not be revised lower than this year’s targets.

This firm position was also hinged on the strength of the recent collection campaign being launched by the Arroyo administration under the so-called "strong republic."

Recently, the BIR filed administrative and criminal charges against four firms for violations of the value-added tax (VAT) rule. It also revealed that it has exposed 300 cases of similar violations.

BIR Commissioner Rene G. Bañez in a separate interview said that he was "cautiously optimistic" that the bureau would achieve its revenue target of P442 billion this year. In fact, initial reports indicate that revenue collection for the month of July has already reached 73 percent of the target P39 billion.

"We are cautiously optimistic to improve collections this year. There are still five-day collections still being consolidated," the commissioner said.

In the first semester, the BIR reported collections of P195.618 billion or a shortfall of 12.10 percent from the P222.544 billion target. Its full year target is P442 billion which was actually downscaled from its P447 billion established at the start of the year.

Bañez pointed out that this year’s first half collections were actually better than the previous year. The 2001 collections from January to June were recorded at P191.077 bilion or 2.38 percent lower than the collection this year.

Growth between 2000 and 2001 was roughly six percent while the projected growth rate this year over last year is about 16 percent.

However, the BIR commissioner pointed out that the highest growth rate in terms of tax revenue effort was 13 percent registered in the early ’90s. In fact, that ratio dropped to a miserable 0.8 percent last year.

In comparing the performance against targets, the BIR is below par. "But comparing recent performance against past performances, we did better this time," Bañez boasted.

The "cautious optimism" is backed by a highly-improved database, better motivated BIR personnel, and a stern and determined Arroyo administration.