BIR, BOC said to fall short of 2012 tax take goals

The Bureau of Internal Revenue may have missed its 2012 collection target by P20 billion as preliminary data showed it chalked up P1.05 trillion last year.

But sources said the shortfall, which was made available just before Malacañang held its yearly economic briefing at the Philippine International Convention Center on Wednesday, could turn out to be lower than the initial estimate.

Although it fell short of the target, the initial BIR collection estimate for last year still represented a 13-percent increase from the 2011 level.

Preliminary government data also showed that the Bureau of Customs fell short of its 2012 collection goal by P55.6 billion, or 19 percent.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Investor Relations Office, the BOC collected P291.4 billion last year, 16 percent short of the P347-billion target. Still, the emerging BOC tax take is 9.9 percent higher than the P265.1 billion collected in 2011.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said Wednesday in a statement that the agency’s January collection was P200 million more than its target of P24.3 billion.

Biazon said his reconfiguration strategy—which involved the transfer of some key frontline customs officials in the early part of January to assignments where they would be most effective—had paid off.

The BOC has been tasked to raise P397.3 billion this year.

“We may have found the right chemistry among our officials to enable us to meet our collection target for 2013, although it remains to be seen as we progress through the year,” Biazon said.

As for the BIR, it aims to raise P1.24 trillion this year. For this, the agency has penciled in P102.4 billion in excise tax, harnessing additional collection from higher rates as provided for in the new “sin tax” law.

Together, the BIR and the BOC account for 92 percent of the government’s 2013 target revenue of P1.78 trillion.