Tax collection grew 14% to P85.5B in January—BIR

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reported on Monday that it collected P85.15 billion in taxes in January, a double-digit rise from the 2011 figure but slightly short of the official target for the month.

The BIR claimed that the 14-percent rise in tax collection in January from P74.57 billion in the same month last year was an indication that efforts to improve efficiency in tax collection and running after tax cheats were bearing fruit.

“The increase is a result of the measures we have been doing to improve tax collection, such as improving tax administration and running after tax evaders,” BIR Commissioner Kim Henares told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Nonetheless, economics professor Benjamin Diokno said the fact that the tax collection for the month was still short by about 2 percent from the official target of P87.28 billion indicated room for improvement.

The full-year revenue goal could not be met without the government hitting monthly collection targets. The government has vowed to significantly increase public spending this year to accelerate the growth of the economy following last year’s slowdown.

“The better way to assess collection performance is to compare it with the target rather than the previous year’s figure,” Diokno said.

Nonetheless, the professor said the shortfall in January was small and should not yet be a cause for concern. He added that the January tax collection figure did not yet show a trend for the rest of the year.

“It [the shortfall] is not alarming, and it should not be deemed as an indication of the collection performance for the entire year. Nonetheless, there is scope for review of the reasons behind the shortfall,” Diokno said.

Economics professor Ernesto Pernia said, on the other hand, that the BIR’s collection performance for January augured well for the ability of the government to improve revenues for the entire year.

“I would have given a grade of A+ if the target was met, but a favorable grade of A- is appropriate to take into account the slight shortfall and the fact that the collection was 14 percent higher than last year’s. The performance was not optimal, but also not too far from best,” Pernia said.

Henares said the BIR considered the full-year tax collection target of P1.066 trillion attainable.

“The collection for the first month, although short of the goal, is significant enough and is something that gives us hope that the P1.066-trillion target for the full year will be achieved,” the BIR commissioner said.