BIR 13 tax collection up 13% at P20.3 billion

The Bureau of Internal Revenue 13-Cebu collected P20.3 billion from January to September 2017, up 13 percent from its P18-billion collection in same period last year but fell short 6.9 percent versus its P21.8-billion collection goal for the period.

In an interview yesterday in her office, BIR 13 regional director Aynie Mandajoyan-Dizon said the agency remains hopeful it would be able to hit its P29.3billion target for 2017.

In the third quarter alone, BIR 13 collected P6.7 billion, down 3 percent from its P6.92-billion collection in the same period last year.

The agency had recorded the highest collection in the second quarter of this year I time for the filing and paying deadline for income tax returns (ITR).

"We have many delinquent accounts to settle (that could help in our collections)," the revenue official said.

"We are catching up with our collection goals," she said.

Dizon said BIR 13 hasn't recorded any big-time transactions so far this year so it is solely depending on recurring collections such as real estate property taxes, income tax and value-added tax (VAT).

Capital gains tax — the tax from real estate sales — accounted for about 6 percent of BIR 13's during the period.

She particularly cited the booming real estate industry in Cebu which has helped the agency boost its collection through taxes from condo and house and lot sales.

On the other hand, income tax accounted for 65 percent while VAT made up 26 percent of the agency's tax collection.

Dizon also announced BIR's segmentation plan for medium sized taxpayers.

She said the revenue agency has found the creation of Large Taxpayers Division (LTD) effective as far as collection efficiency is concerned.

So this time, it is looking at the segmentation of medium taxpayers and the eventual creation of Medium Taxpayers Division as well, she said.

She noted this is a move the tax bureau deems would help it yield more collections.

Dizon added BIR 13, for its part, has already identified at least 500 medium taxpayers under the watch of the revenue region.

This number will soon increase to 1,500.

The identified medium taxpayers are engaged in various industries such as construction, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, Dizon said.

Dizon had previously said BIR 13 has implemented a seven-point program to help boost its collection this year.

One of the programs is massive tax compliance verification drive (door-to-door spot checking) which aims to identify establishments that are not yet registered with the BIR. Others include the intensified tax data matching; benchmarking for industries; point-ofsale (POS) post evaluation; inventory stock taking; enforcement activities; and surveillance activities.

Last year, BIR-13 collected P26.6 billion, falling short of its P36-billion target or posting a P9.7-billion revenue shortfall versus the target.

However, the 2016 collection is up 2.7 percent or P700 million from the P25.9 billion it collected in 2015 when it had a P25.4-billion goal.

BIR-13 collects taxes in Cebu and Bohol through five revenue district offices.

The BIR had outlined priority programs aimed at serving the bureau’s three key objectives: attain collection targets, improve taxpayer satisfaction as well as to protect revenues and “recapture” public trust.

In order to attain collection targets, the bureau will undertake “comprehensive taxpayer profiling and industry benchmarking,” expanding the list of covered industries; revive suspension and temporary closure of businesses for non-compliance with value added tax requirements under the “Oplan Kandado Program;” update zonal values, which are the basis for computing taxes on the sale or transfer of real properties; and broaden the tax base “by registering unregistered taxpayers/businesses as a result of tax compliance verification drives and third-party information.”

Carlo S. Lorenciana