TRAIN revenue gain missed end-Aug goal

The net revenue gained during the first eight months of implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act reached only P10.6 billion, below target by 74.1 percent, as the take from sugary drinks, coal, oil products, as well as value-added tax (VAT) fell short.

Department of Finance (DOF) documents showed that the additional revenues collected by the bureaus of Customs (BOC) and Internal Revenue (BIR) from January to August were lower than the programmed P41 billion supposed to come from the TRAIN Law’s new or higher taxes on consumption.

The end-August target for the BIR was a net revenue gain of P500 million, but the country’s biggest tax-collection agency posted a P17-billion loss.

The BOC, meanwhile, also missed its eight-month goal of P40.4 billion as the actual net gain amounted only P27.6 billion.

The actual take from petroleum excise taxes of P31 billion was 26 percent lower than the P41.8-billion target.

From sugar-sweetened beverages, revenues amounted P24.9 billion, lower by 30.6 percent than the P35.9-billion goal.

For coal, collections reached P600 million, only half of the P1.2-billion target.

As for cosmetic procedures, the take from the new excise tax had yet to reach P100 million as of end-August, documents showed.

Also, VAT posted a net loss of P13 billion even as the DOF had programmed a gain of P25.2 billion for the eight-month period.

Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko told reporters Monday that the decline in VAT collections was a result of the higher exemption threshold of P3 million for small and medium enterprises under the TRAIN Law from P1.9 million previously.

With regards the new excise tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, Tionko blamed the lower-than-expected revenues to “hitches” in its implementation.

“We have issues on what are considered sweetened beverages. I think these are birthing issues,” Tionko added.

Once these “hiccups” are resolved, the DOF expects higher revenues from the TRAIN Law next year, according to Tionko.