The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P228.94 billion in taxes in August, a surge of 23 percent or P42.9 billion from the P186.08 billion recorded in the same month of 2021.
Also, net collections in August—taking into account tax refunds—was 4.5 percent or P9.8 billion higher than the BIR’s target of P219.17 billion for the month.
The latest numbers brought the BIR’s collection for the eight months from January to August to P1.56 trillion, a jump of 12.2 percent or P170.17 billion from P1.39 trillion in the same period last year.
However, this was 2 percent or P20 billion short of the P1.59-trillion target for the eight-month period.
According to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the national government’s revenue performance as of the end of July showed income totaling P2 trillion, which was 20.5-percent better than the P1.7 trillion earned in the first seven months of 2021.
Strict enforcement
Of the seven-month total, 90 percent or P1.8 trillion was raised through tax collections, which recorded a 15.8-percent growth year-on-year.
As of then, BIR net collection for July reached P197.4 billion, up by 15.6 percent or P26.6 billion over collections a year ago.
“BIR’s higher uptake is attributable to its continued strict enforcement, as well as the implementation of its digitization program,” the BTr said.
The BIR’s collection for the January-July period amounted to P1.3 trillion, rising 10.6 percent or P127.3 billion from P1.2 trillion previously.
This helped pare down the national government’s seven-month budget deficit by 9.1 percent or P76.3 billion to P761 billion from P837.3 billion in the same period of 2021.
Also, from January to July this year, the national government spent P2.5 trillion, 7.4 percent or P171.7 billion more compared to a year ago.
Interest payments amounted to P309.3 billion, which increased by 15.6 percent or P41.7 billion.
Still, seven-month interest payments were 3.2 percent lower compared to the planned P319.4 billion expenditure for this item. The BTr said this translated to P10.1 billion in savings.
Interest payments accounted for 11 percent of total expenditures for the seven-month period, slightly more than the 10.4-percent share in 2021.