BIR misses 2011 revenue target despite name-and-shame campaign

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the ongoing name-and-shame campaign by the country’s main revenue agencies, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) missed its target for 2011.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, February 28, BIR commissioner Kim Henares said 2011 tax collections reached P924.1 billion, slightly below the 2011 goal of P940 billion but 12.34% higher than the 2010 collections of P822.6 billion.  
 
“There is room for improvement and the collection performance of the Bureau should improve further once the various reforms planned are put in place and fully implemented,” Henares said.

For 2012, the BIR is tasked to collect P1.066 trillion, the first time in the history of the BIR that its collection target has reached the P1-trillion mark.

As part of the Aquino government’s campaign promise to improve tax administration before introducing new tax measures, the BIR has been filing cases against suspected tax evaders through its Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program.

The 2011 tax effort for BIR, however, reached 9.5%, up from 9.1% in 2010 and 9.3% in 2009.

Breakdown

The BIR accounts for 70% of total government revenues. Its tax collections come from BIR operations and non-BIR operations.

Below is a breakdown of the P924.1 billion actual collections in 2011:

• P890.5 billion from tax collections of the different districts
• P33.7 billion from final withholding taxes on interest payments and documentary stamp taxes due from government debt securities issued by the Bureau of the Treasury

 
Watch out, entrepreneurs!

Henares said the agency is hoping to meet the target through different reform programs.

Self-employed individuals, particularly the high-earning sector such as doctors, accountants and lawyers are being tightly watched, she said.

From measly P9 billion annual tax take from the self-employed, Henares said they hope to increase the collections to P95 billion.

Based on the BIR’s estimates, the average tax being paid by self-employed individuals is only at P5,000 per individual even as this should increase to roughly P100,000.

There are at least one million self-employed individuals but majority are not paying income taxes, the BIR chief said. – Rappler.com