BIR cuts 2019 collection goal to P2.271 trillion

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue has trimmed its 2019 collection target to P2.271 trillion from the original goal of P2.33 trillion following the passage of a watered down tax amnesty law, according to a BIR official.

In a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday, BIR deputy commissioner and spokesperson Maria Cabreros said the agency wants to raise its revenue to P2.271 trillion for 2019, 16.3 percent higher than the agency’s actual collections of P1.952 trillion in 2018.

However, this is lower than the original target announced earlier by the BIR, which was at P2.33 trillion.

In a text message to The STAR, Cabreros said the reduction in the BIR’s target came after the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) revised its 2019 fiscal program.

Cabreros said this was a consequence of President Duterte’s move to veto the general tax amnesty provisions in the recently signed Republic Act 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Law.

“There was a slight reduction in the goal as the DBCC has a recomputation of the economic assumption,” Cabreros said adding that “we must remove the goal on general amnesty because it was vetoed.”

The bicameral conference committee approved the Tax Amnesty Bill in December last year, but it lacked the provisions on the relaxation of the Bank Secrecy Law and the automatic exchange of information, as proposed by the DOF.

Estimates from the DOF showed that the final Tax Amnesty Law is expected to raise P27.54 billion in additional revenue this year, 56.63 percent lower than the P63.5 billion initially expected by the DOF under the original proposal.

As a result, the country’s economic managers decided to cut the government’s revenue program to P3.15 trillion for 2019 from the previous goal of P3.208 trillion.

Earlier, Finance undersecretary Antonette Tionko said the DOF and the BIR is planning to roll out within the month the tax amnesty program on delinquencies. Tionko said the program will run for one year.