The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Tuesday conceded that it could not collect all of the P2.32 trillion in taxes programmed for this year due to below-target collections thus far from the excise taxes slapped on fuel and sugary drinks.
During a House committee on ways and means briefing, Assistant Commissioner Alfredo V. Misajon of the BIR said that while the end-October tax take of the country’s biggest revenue agency rose 10.1 percent year-on-year to P1.78 trillion, its actual tax take was 4.7-percent below the P1.87-trillion goal for the 10-month period.
Misajon noted that from 2016 to 2018, the BIR managed to collect 95-96 percent of its annual targets.
As for the 2019 target, Misajon said that while there was still a “fairly good chance” that this would be met, the BIR eventually “may be slightly short.”
Committee chair and Albay Rep. Joey Salceda computed a possible P100-billion shortfall for this year while Misajon said it could be “almost P150 billion” or even more.
Misajon said the BIR would likely collect 96-97 percent of its full-year 2019 target.
“But we will be exerting so much effort for the rest of the year to meet our goal. The target is to meet or exceed the [programmed] collection. Hopefully, with our programs we can have substantial take in the two remaining months,” Misajon said.
According to Misajon, one reason for the below-target BIR collections so far this year included oil players’ increasing gasoline imports.
“We were given a goal, but the business practices of our refineries—instead of refining locally, they shifted to importation so we collected less from them. The collections from excise taxes [on imports] went to the Bureau of Customs,” Misajon explained.
Collections from sugar-sweetened beverages were also lower than the goal to date, Misajon added.
“Some manufacturers shifted from using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—they used local sugar, which had a lower tax rate, in their manufacturing process,” Misajon said.
Under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, the levy for HFCS was double at 12 a liter, while those from ordinary sugar is being slapped only P6 a liter.
For 2020, the BIR had been tasked to collect P2.576 trillion in taxes. INQ