BIR misses June target, sets audit of big taxpayers

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) posted a 6% year-on-year increase in revenue for June but still missed its tax collection target for the month, the agency said Friday, July 18.

The agency collected P94.12 billion ($2.16 billion*) in tax revenues in June, up P5.26 billion ($120.89 million) or 6.04% from the same period the previous year. However, this still short of the month’s P107.4 billion ($2.45 billion) collection target by P13.28 billion ($305.10 million) or 12%.

The lower-than-expected growth in tax collection was due to a slowdown in government spending and business activity because of delays in the release of goods from Manila’s congested ports, BIR said.

For June 2014, collections from BIR operations amounted to P91.63 billion ($2.11 billion), P5.35 billion ($122 million) or 6.20% more than collections made in June 2013.

Collections from non-BIR operations amounted to P2.49 billion ($57.21 million), P12.85 million ($295.23 million) or 0.52% more than the collections made in the same period last year.

Collections of the regional offices amounted to P34.92 billion ($802.30 million), or P3.95 billion ($90.75 million) or 12.74% more than the collections made in June 2013.

However, collections from non-BIR operations amounted to P18.5 billion ($425.04 million), P374.84 million ($8.61 million) or 1.99% less than collections made in the first half of 2013.

For the first half of 2014, collections from BIR operations amounted to P624.71 billion ($14.35 billion), P49.87 billion ($1.15 billion) or 8.68% more than collections made in the first half of 2013.

Collections of the regional offices in the first half of the year amounted to P233.53 billion ($5.37 billion) or P26.66 billion ($612.69 million), 12.89% more than the collections made in the first half of 2013.

Large taxpayers’ audit underway

Collections by the large taxpayer service amounted to P391.18 billion ($8.99 billion) or P23.21 billion ($533.26 million) or 6.31% more than collections made in the first half of 2013.

Citing the need to closely monitor the tax compliance of taxpayers in the large taxpayer service (LTS), especially with regard to Value Added Tax (VAT), Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares directed an “intensive audit” of the group.

“The Commissioner of Internal Revenue have instructed the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) headed by OIC-ACIR Nestor S. Valeroso to conduct an intensive audit of the returns filed by the large taxpayers including but not limited to their value added tax returns,” the BIR said.

It said that the VAT Audit Group of the LTS “have been reinvigorated and will work full time in implementing quality short VAT audit to correct taxpayer errors and detect violations with the end in view of improving VAT compliance.”

“The LTS were instructed to specifically look into the tax compliance of the financial and insurance sector. The LTS were also instructed to assist in the filing of tax evasion cases if so warranted,” the BIR said.

From the first half of the year, the BIR collected P643.21 billion ($14.78 billion), P49.5 billion ($1.14 billion) or 8.34% more than the collections made in the first half of 2013.

For full-year 2014, the bureau is aiming to collect about P1.456 trillion ($33.45 billion), raising the target amount from the 2013 target of P1.253 trillion ($28.79 billion) by 16.2% or P203 billion ($4.66 billion). – Rappler.com

*$1 = P43.53