BIR retains CTRP Package 1 billion collection target

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is still expecting to collect P36.1 billion in additional revenue from the implementation of the tax amnesty program this year despite the lack of amendments in the Bank Secrecy Law.

According to BIR Memorandum Order 9-2019, the BIR has retained its P36.1 billion collection target for 2019 from Package 1B of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), which involves a general and estate tax amnesty program.

The goal, however, was computed with the assumption that the Tax Amnesty Bill would include reforms in the Bank Secrecy Law, according to previous data from the Department of Finance (DOF).

Broken down, P6 billion of the target collection was estimated to come from the estate tax amnesty program, P13.6 billion from the general amnesty, and P16.5 billion from the bank secrecy and exchange of information provisions.

Congress last December ratified the Tax Amnesty Bill, while scrapping the proposed amendments in the Bank Secrecy Law.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez earlier warned that relaxing the Bank Secrecy Law would be necessary for the tax amnesty program to be effectively implemented.

Despite this, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua, in an earlier interview, said the DOF is awaiting for the President to review and sign the Tax Amnesty Bill.

Chua said the tax amnesty program would also be a on-time offering, and not a full-year rolling program.

“You don’t need one year for an amnesty. If people apply in one month, then you practically collected the revenue. It’s not like the VAT or the fuel or the income that every month, there is revenue. It’s a one-time thing, once people file, it’s done,” he said.

The BIR booked total collections amounting to P1.96 trillion in 2018, falling short of its P2.04 trillion target for the period.

For 2019, the BIR is targeting to collect P2.33 trillion, 19 percent up from last year’s actual collection.

About P2.257 trillion of this amount is expected to be generated through BIR operations. In particular, P1.44 trillion will come from the BIR’s Large Taxpayers Service, while the remaining P816.11 billion will be from the Revenue Regions.

By tax type, P1.06 trillion of the total BIR target will come in the form of income taxes, P506.83 billion in value-added tax, P400.51 billion in excise taxes, P112.37 billion from percentage taxes, and P177.45 billion from other taxes.

Meanwhile, P73.21 billion of the total bureau’s goal is projected to come from non-BIR operations.