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Philippines: BIR, BOC collections down further
MANILA, Philippines — Total collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from January to mid-April declined further due to quarantine measures and the extension of the deadline for the filing and payment of income and other taxes to next month, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
In a statement, the DOF said the combined collections of the BIR and BOC amounted to only P641.62 billion from Jan. 1 to April 17, 26.3 percent lower than the P871.19 billion in the same period last year.
The amount was also P431.45 billion or 40 percent short of the combined target of P1.073 trillion for the period.
Of the total collections, P480.64 billion was brought in by the BIR, 32 percent lower than the P706.79 billion recorded in the same period last year.
The figure was also 45.3 percent lower than the BIR’s target of P879.18 billion for the period, preliminary data from the DOF showed.
The DOF attributed the decline in the BIR’s collection to the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon and other parts of the country, which prompted the agency to extend the deadline for the filing and payment of income taxes and other taxes.
The DOF said the BIR’s excise tax collections also declined across all product categories, reaching P76.47 billion as of April 15. This was 33 percent down from P114.23 billion a year ago and 52.7 percent short of the P161.84 billion goal.
On the other hand, revenues generated by the BOC from Jan. 1 to April 15 declined by 2.08 percent to P160.98 billion from P164.4 billion in the same period last year.
The DOF-attached agency also failed to meet its collection goal of P193.89 billion.
From April 1 to April 17, the BIR and BOC’s revenues plunged by 84.4 percent to P40.57 billion from P260.45 billion in the previous year, according to the DOF.
The DOF said tax collections during this period stood at only P275.37 billion, sharply lower than the combined BIR and BOC goal of P315.95 billion.
The BIR, which accounted for 78 percent of the state’s tax collection capacity, raised only P25.01 billion from April 1 to 17, equivalent to 8.66 percent of its P288.75 billion target for the entire month.
This was also 89.5 percent lower than the BIR’s April 2019 collection of P237.93 billion.
Meanwhile, the BOC’s collections from April 1 to 15 amounted to P15.57 billion, 30.89 percent lower than last year’s P22.53 billion, and 42.76 percent short of the P27.2 billion goal.
Earlier, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez assured the public that the country is “financially able” to meet the requirements in fighting the pandemic and mitigating its economic impact.
“Our tax collections are definitely going to be a bit lower than our original target but as I said, these are things that we can finance,” Dominguez said.
For 2020, the BIR is targeting to collect P2.576 trillion, while the BOC aims to generate P731 billion.
However, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) estimated that COVID-19 could cut revenues by as much as P286.4 billion if economic growth settles at zero percent this year. If the economy contracts by one percent, the drop in revenues would reach P318.9 billion.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/04/27/2009977/bir-boc-collections-down-further