BIR exceeds January tax collection target

MANILA, Philippines -  The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P74.57 billion in January, surpassing its P71.97-billion target for the month by P2.59 billion or 3.6 percent, the agency announced yesterday.

Compared to collections in the same month last year of P64.61 billion, the actual tax-take in January rose by P9.96 billion or a growth of 15.42 percent.

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said that meeting the target in the first month of the year is a good signal for the agency.

At the same time, Henares said the agency would continue to step up efforts to meet its revenue goal of the year of P940 billion.

“I have to stress that it is still early in the year and we will continue our efforts to collect from everyone what is due, so the country will have enough to fund vital projects that will support future economic growth,” Henares said.

Last year, the BIR generated a total of P822.62 billion in tax revenues.

Henares said that to meet the yearend target for the year, BIR collections must grow by 14.2 percent.

As such, she said the agency has been filing tax evasion cases every other week before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

As of mid-March, the BIR has filed a total of 33 tax evasion cases since July 2010 against high-profile individuals.

Last week, the agency filed charges against two former ranking military officers, their spouses and a relative mired in corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The BIR filed separate complaints against Retired Major General Carlos Garcia and his wife Clarita; Retired Lt. General Jacinto Ligot and his wife Erlinda Yambao-Ligot ; and Ligot’s brother-in-law Edgardo Tecson Yambao.

With these cases and the expected collections from pending tax assessments, Henares said the BIR is likely to meet its collection goal for the year of P940 billion.