BIR told to ensure meeting revenue goal

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez told the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) last Tuesday to ensure meeting its revenue targets for the year, recommending the use of tools to enhance tax-collection efficiency.

Romualdez was quoted in a statement as saying that achieving these targets is crucial for government’s spending programs and to promote economic growth.

“Year on year, the BIR’S revenue collections grew by 17 percent this year. That’s welcome news, and I credit the BIR for that,” the Speaker. “But 17 percent growth from total collections last year will mean the BIR will fall short of the P3.05 trillion target set by the economic managers.”

The BIR collected P2.516 trillion in 2023. A 17 percent increase would bring total collections to P2.944 trillion this year, which remains slightly below the target.

“It’s a high bar to clear. That’s why Congress has given the BIR the tools to collect more effectively from taxpayers,” Romualdez said.

“We enacted the Ease of Paying Taxes, effective this year, to digitalize most of BIR’S transactions and encourage taxpayers to comply voluntarily. The law will also broaden the base of taxpayers since we made registering as a taxpayer simpler, more convenient, and, above all, free,” he said.

The Speaker pointed out that the country’s economic growth this year “depends in large part on the government carrying out the budget President Marcos proposed and Congress authorized. Of course, the sooner the BIR can collect the cash, the faster the government can fund its programs.”

“Government final expenditure grew by only 1.7 percent during the first quarter, so I’m hoping that the BIR will be able to collect more in the second quarter so government spending can also catch up. We need to fund both programmed spending and as much of the unprogrammed appropriations as possible to meet our growth targets this year,” Romualdez said.

“Tax is the lifeblood of the government, and the vitality of economic growth this year depends on whether the BIR can supply that lifeblood,” he added.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto commanded the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) to work together as a team in further strengthening tax and customs administration to hit the government’s total revenue collection target of P4.3 trillion in 2024.

The bulk of the tax revenues amounting to P3.05 trillion will be generated by the BIR, while the BOC is expected to collect close to P1 trillion.