BIR misses June target by 2.2%

The Bureau of Internal Revenue collected P67 billion in June, falling short of the P68.5-billion target by 2.2 percent.

Last month’s collection brought revenues in the first semester of 2011 to P458 billion, short by 0.5 percent or P2.3 billion of the P460.3-billion goal.

Compared to 2010 figures, the collections in June were up 12.7 percent from P59. 5 billion while the six-month total was an increase of 13.5 percent from the P403.5 billion recorded in the year-ago period.

“To put the bureau’s performance in perspective, tax revenues may be looked at in two groups,” Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim S. Henares said.

Henares said one group accounted for collections that were levied from taxable transactions that occurred as a result of business activity such as from the sale of goods or the generation of income.

The other accounted for revenues from taxable transactions that occurred as a result of public sector or government activity such as from the trade of treasury bills and bonds and from taxes remitted by government entities.

“The overall shortfall of the BIR comes mainly from the second group, whose shortfall as of June 30 has reached a total of almost P6.3 billion,” she said.

The BIR, whose collections represented about three quarters of the government’s yearly revenues, needs to meet its target to help trim the budget gap. This year, Malacañang expects to spend P300 billion over its budget.

The Bureau of the Treasury reported that as of the end of May, the government’s fiscal position settled at a deficit of P9.3 billion.

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the fiscal numbers showed that government spending has picked up and would continue to do so during the re  maining months of the year.

Abad said that despite faster allotment releases, contractions in cash disbursements compared with last year’s levels persisted due to slower implementation of government projects.

This resulted to lesser demand of payments from the government for the delivery of goods and services, he explained.