The Department of Finance (DOF) is confident the collection targets of the bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs (BOC) this year will be hit on the basis of last year’s improved agency performance.
According to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, both have shown improvements in collection performance in 2017 compared to previous years.
“You know the collection agencies are doing well. They achieved their highest target in a long, long time so we are confident these guys are doing okay,” Dominguez told financial reporters.
Earlier, the BOC estimated revenue collection in 2017 amounting to P444.1 billion, short by 3.3 percent compared to the P459.6-billion target for the year, but 12 percent higher compared to collection of only P396.4 billion in 2016.
The second-biggest revenue agency posted its highest collection of P46.5 billion in November last year.
Preliminary BIR revenue collection in 2017 was estimated at P1.774 trillion, or short by 3 percent, versus the P1.829-trillion target for the year, but a 13-percent improvement over the P1.567 trillion reported in 2016.
“Yes, they are achievable,” Dominguez reiterated.
Earlier, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) raised the year’s revenue target of both agencies to P2.039 trillion in the case of the BIR and P581.2 billion for the BOC.
According to Dominguez, the passage of Package 1B under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), which focuses on improving tax administration, is crucial in helping boost the collection effort of both agencies.
“We just have to make sure that 1B gets passed as quickly as possible,” he said.
Last December President Duterte signed into law the TRAIN which slashed the personal-income tax rate from 32 percent to 25 percent while applying offsetting measures, including increasing the excise tax on fuel and automobiles, among others.