BIR may miss tax amnesty revenue target of P3.8B

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) may miss its tax amnesty revenue target of P3.8 billion as the latest amnesty program is set to lapse soon.

The tax agency has collected only P1.6 billion so far since the program kicked off in September last year or way below the BIR’s projected collections from the program of P3.83 billion.

Under the law, delinquent taxpayers have until March 6 to avail themselves of tax amnesty from the BIR.

Internal Revenue Commissioner Lilian Hefti urged taxpayers to beat the deadline.

“We have collected P1.6 billion (as of Feb. 27). Taxpayers are encouraged to go straight to banks. They do not need a review from any BIR personnel,” Hefti said.

The BIR started implementing the Tax Amnesty Law of 2007 in September last year. The law immunes a qualified taxpayer from any lawsuit involving deficient tax payments covering the period 2005 and prior years if he or she pays the tax amnesty fee.

Under the law, delinquent taxpayers just have to pay a tax amnesty rate of five percent of a taxpayer’s net worth or a fee ranging from P25,000 to P500,000 depending on the net worth.

The BIR, the government’s main revenue earner is under heavy pressure to raise revenues to help boost state coffers.

Last year, it collected P711.6 billion or P54.3 billion lower than the program of P765.9 billion.

Hefti urged taxpayers to avail themselves of amnesty now as she warned that the BIR would not hesitate going after delinquent taxpayers.

Earlier, BIR officials said the government may not have another tax amnesty program as this requires the enactment of a law.

Multilateral agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also discouraged government from giving tax amnesty, saying that this is not a very effective revenue measure.