BIR ramps up tax compliance drive

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has initiated a nationwide tax compliance drive to boost awareness and encourage taxpayers to pay their obligations.

BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui led a two-day tax compliance verification drive (TCVD) across the country to raise taxpayer awareness and cultivate a culture of compliance.

With the TCVD, all revenue regions and revenue district offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were ordered to  visit establishments and businesses to educate taxpayers on their tax obligations.

“This nationwide TCVD is about having a conversation with taxpayers in order to improve their understanding of BIR requirements,” Lumagui said.

“This is a pivotal step in achieving the goal of excellent taxpayer service by incorporating a grassroots approach,” he said.

Lumagui said the BIR is taking the technical concept of taxation to the doors of ordinary Filipinos, while communicating through a layman’s point of view.

Further, the TCVD hopes to educate taxpayers on better compliance with existing tax laws, rules and regulations.

“This goes beyond the usual tax mapping efforts, with the primary goal of assisting taxpayers in fulfilling their obligations to the government,” Lumagui said.

“Taxation is for everyone. It was not meant to be understood only by a few people,” he said.

For 2024, the BIR is tasked to collect P3.05 trillion in revenues. This is 15 percent higher than last year’s target of P2.639 trillion.

Latest data showed that BIR collection had reached P2.342 trillion as of end-November 2023 or 89 percent of the target.