THE national government is targeting to collect P3.5 trillion, mostly in taxes, next year, the Department of Finance (DOF) told lawmakers during the first budget hearing on Thursday.
During the briefing of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) on the proposed 2020 budget, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the expected revenue for 2020 is 12 percent higher than the projected collection P3.1 trillion this year.
Beltran said the government has programmed disbursements at P4.2 trillion for 2020.
Of the projected revenue for next year, the DOF said P3.3 trillion will come from taxes.
Beltran said the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s goal for next year is pegged at P2.5 trillion, higher than this year’s target collection of P2.2 trillion.
He added that the Bureau of Customs is targeting to collect P731 billion next year—higher than its goal of P661 billion this year.
The rest of the tax revenues, amounting to P25.1 billion, will come from other offices.
For 2020, Beltran said the Train law, tax amnesty and tobacco excise tax, and other proposed measures are projected to produce some P195 billion.
For the first six months of the year, the government collected P1.547 trillion due largely to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law. The figure is higher than P1.410 trillion recorded in January to June 2018.
Moreover, Beltran said the government is expecting P20 billion in revenues next year from the passage of Package 2 Plus, or the additional excise taxes on alcohol products, heated tobacco and vaping products.
Nontax revenues, he said, will amount to P201 billion. Some P106.9 billion will come from other nontax proceeds, such as the Malampaya royalties, which are expected to contribute P24.1 billion next year.
According to the DOF, the passage of the remaining tax reform packages is expected to help ensure a reliable revenue base and boost economic growth.
With this revenue and disbursement program, the deficit target will be maintained at 3.2 percent of GDP. The government’s GDP growth goal is at 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2020.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives, through the Committee on Appropriations chaired by Rep. Isidro Ungab, started the deliberations of the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 with a briefing of the DBCC, the interagency body that sets the overall economic targets, expenditure levels and budget of the government.