Aquino presses BIR on higher tax take

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday urged the country’s revenue workers to exert more effort in boosting state coffers by providing better service to the people and strictly implementing existing tax laws.

At the 106th anniversary of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday, President Aquino reminded the BIR’s roughly 12,000 employees of his administration’s target to “bring the tax effort to 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)” before the end of his term or by 2016.

The tax effort measures the government’s ability to increase tax collection that is commensurate with the growth of the economy.

In the first quarter of the year, the government’s tax effort improved to 12.3 percent of GDP from the 11.6 percent of GDP recorded in the same period in 2009.

Last year, the government’s tax effort slid to 12.8 percent or way below the programmed 14.4 percent for the period due to a host of reasons including rampant corruption, weakened economy and the implementation of the so-called revenue-eroding measures.

Mr. Aquino also urged everyone to join his administration in treading the “right path” and veering away from corrupt practices.

This, he said, would enable the government to have more revenues for social services and education.

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares, for her part, said that the BIR would try to bring the tax effort to 15 percent in a year, or way ahead of Aquino’s 2016 target.

During yesterday’s celebration, the BIR gave two large companies in the Philippines a pat on the back yesterday for paying billions in taxes.

Henares honored two top taxpayers “for their commendable contribution to the government” in a bid to encourage other companies to do the same.

The two top taxpayers are Nestle Philippines Inc. and Monde M.Y. San Corp.

Henares said the two were chosen from among the elite group of taxpayers in the country based on the percentage of their tax payments made this year as compared with last year.

Furthermore, the two companies garnered the highest percentage in their payments of income and business taxes which have shown a remarkable increase as compared with payments made by the rest of the taxpayers.

Nestle Philippines Inc., one of the key players in the fast moving consumer goods industry is the manufacturer of products such as coffee, milk, beverages, non-dairy creamer, food, infant nutrition, ice cream, chilled dairy and breakfast cereals in their flagship brands Nescafe, Coffeemate, Milo, Nestea, Nido, Bear Brand, NesVita, Nestle Magnolia Ice Cream, among others.

Last year the company paid some P10.6 billion in taxes to the government. It is represented by its chairman and CEO John Martin Miller.

Monde M.Y. San Corp. on the other hand, is the maker of crackers and biscuits in their flagship brands Skyflakes and Fita.

Their products have already gained patronage in other seven countries with their partnership with dealers and distributors.

Monde M. Y. San Corp., like Nestle Philippines, Inc, is among the country’s top corporations.

Henares urged individual and corporate taxpayers to fulfill their tax obligations to the BIR amid the government’s fragile fiscal position.

The BIR is tasked to collect P860 billion this year, revised upward from an earlier goal of P830 billion. — Delon Porcalla