BIR hits Sept collection target

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) posted double-digit growth in tax collections for September, in the process also surpassing its target for the month.

The bureau netted P138.17 billion, up 24.4 percent from a year earlier and bettering the month’s P130.12 billion goal, preliminary data released on Monday showed.

The Department of Finance said the September collections included P12.1 billion – part of a P25 billion settlement -- from cigarette company Mighty Corp.

The BIR’s year to date collections rose to P1.30 trillion, below the target of about P1.35 trillion.

The agency has said taxes due from the local unit of Japan Tobacco International (JTI) could boost government revenues by P2 billion of Mighty Corp.

paying P40 million every week as part of the buy-out deal.

The BIR has also said that it needs to collect P167 billion every month until December this year to hit an internal target of P1.829 trillion for 2017.

net P1.783 trillion as targeted by the Development Budget Coordination Committee.

BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay has committed to continue ongoing tax administration reforms to further improve revenue collections.

He also asked the taxpaying public to help by paying the right taxes correctly and on time, and not line the “pockets” of corrupt tax bureau personnel.