MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue failed to meet its P1.62-trillion target for 2016, collecting only P1.57 trillion in taxes last year, BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay said on Thursday, February 23.

Dulay said at a Palace news briefing that the collected amount is 97% of the target in 2016, an election year.

Tax collection in 2016 was also 9.5% higher than in 2015. Of the amount, P924 billion came from income tax collection while the rest is from other taxes such as excise and corporate taxes.

The BIR is eyeing P1.83 trillion in revenue collections in 2017.

“To achieve the collection, we have to grow by 16% from our last year’s collection performance,” he said.

Asked what weaknesses in the BIR hamper its ability to attain its targets, Dulay said the main problem is lack of personnel.

“We have to hire more people to do the collection. That’s why we are asking Congress to get out of the Salary Standardization Law)

The BIR plans to do “massive recruiting” this year for examiners, certified public accountants (CPAs), and lawyers.

Bills to exempt the BIR from the SSL have been filed in both houses of Congress. This will allow the BIR to pay their personnel higher salaries than those provided under the SSL.

Currently, the BIR’s hiring rate for CPAs is P20,000 while its hiring rate for lawyers is P30,000 to P40,000 – much lower than the rates of professionals in agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission which is exempted from SSL coverage. – Rappler.com