Govt misses 11-month revenue target
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:02:00 01/14/2009
Filed Under: State Budget & Taxes, Economic Indicators
The government’s revenue collections reached P1.08 trillion in the period from January to November 2008, falling short of its target of P1.11 trillion for the 11 months, according to documents from the Department of Finance.
November collections amounted to P109 billion, compared with a target of P120.3 billion, the documents showed.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P721.6 billion in the January-November period, compared with its target of P762.2 billion. In November, its collections amounted to P76.7 billion, compared with its target of P90.9 billion for that month.
The Bureau of Customs’ 11-month collections reached P241.5 billion, 3.8-percent higher than its target of P232.7 billion. In November, its collections amounted to P23.3 billion, 9.6 percent higher than its target of P23.06 billion for that month.
The BIR’s below-target collection was one of the big factors that swung the government’s financial position to a deficit of P4.3 billion in November from a surplus of P54.1 billion in the same month of 2007.
Government expenditures in November grew 20.3 percent to P103.4 billion from P94.2 billion a year earlier.
The new BIR commissioner, Sixto Esquivias IV, said in an interview that the bureau “would definitely miss” its 2008 collection target of P845 billion.
“This is due partly to the effects of Republic Act No. 9504 and to the lower-than-expected gross domestic product growth,” Esquivias said.
RA 9504 exempts minimum daily wage earners from income tax as well as increases the level of personal exemption allowance of each individual taxpayer to a uniform amount of P50,000, regardless of whether the taxpayer is single, married or head of a family.
The law, which took effect in July, also raised the additional exemption allowance for each qualified dependent to P25,000 from P8,000.
Esquivias said the BIR was pushing for a renewed campaign that would involve padlocking tax-evading business establishments.
“We need to increase the fear factor, they should pay or we have their businesses closed,” he said.
He said an order laying out the rules for the campaign — dubbed as “Oplan Kandado,” or Operation Plan Padlock — was being drafted and should be ready within the month.
Esquivias said the BIR revenue target for 2009 was set at P911 billion. Ronnel W. Domingo; edited by INQUIRER.net
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