Tax goal topped 1st time this year

COLLECTIONS of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) exceeded the target for July, the Finance department yesterday said, even as year-to-date tally still fell short of the goal for that period.

BIR collections reached P119.94 billion in July, up 19.82% from the P100.098 billion collected in the same month last year. Collection likewise exceeded the bureau’s P119.883-billion target for the month by 0.05% or P58.52 million.

This brought year-to-date tally to P763.148 billion, up 9.99% from the same period last year but still short of the P831.063-billion target for the first seven months this year.

It was the first time the BIR breached its monthly goal since December 2013, when it raked in P96.63 billion, topping the P90.79-billion target for the month.

Asked what drove July’s tax haul to exceed the target, BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares replied: “hard work.”

Collections from BIR operations totaled P115.45 billion, up 21.61% from July 2013 and exceeding last month’s goal by P2.06 billion or 1.81%. The target was likewise exceeded by the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS), which collected P77.54 billion or 25.05% higher than in July 2013. LTS topped its goal by P2.44 billion or 3.25%. Non-BIR operations -- involving taxes on government securities -- contributed P4.49 billion, 12.97% less than July 2013 collections and P2 billion or 30.8% short of the goal set for last month. Regional offices raked in P37.92 billion, up 15.12% from collections in July 2013 but short by P1.95 billion or 4.89% of its target.

BIR is mandated to collect P1.456 trillion this year. With the latest tally of P763.148 billion, it still needs to collect around P692.852 billion from August to December to meet its 2014 target. -- Mikhail Franz E. Flores

source:  Businessworld