BIR exceeds April collection target

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) exceeded its targeted revenue collections in April, the month which marked the deadline for income tax payments, the agency said Monday. 

 

According to BIR data, the agency collected P148.99 billion in revenues last month, or 4.43 percent over its P142.66-billion goal and 28.20 percent more than the collections in April 2012.  

 

The goal last month—the deadline for filing income tax returns for the year previous—was one of largest for the whole year. 

 

Collections from BIR operations, which account for bulk of revenues, amounted to P145.64 billion, 28.4 percent more than the collections a year earlier, data showed. The BIR operations target of P138.8 billion for April 2013 was exceeded by 4.93 percent. 

 

Collections from non-BIR operations was P3.35 billion, up 19.87 percent year-on-year. 

 

The agency continued to post double-digit gains—booked under operations—in collections from regional offices, rising 31.9 percent year-on-year to P52.02 billion. 

 

Collections by the Large Taxpayer Service grew 26.53 percent to P93.62 billion. 

 

In the first quarter, tax revenues totaled P244.1 billion, up 6.56 percent year-on-year but short of the P267.08 billion goal for the first three months of 2013. 

 

The BIR is looking at higher collections in the three remaining quarters of the year—P358.3 billion in April to June, P306.87 billion in July to September and P321.43 billion in October-December.

 

The tax agency is expected to collect a record P1.25 trillion for the whole of 2013,  up 18 percent from actual collections of P1.057 trillion a year earlier.

 

The government sees the Sin Tax Reform Act implemented in January, coupled with agency reforms that include the Run After Tax Evaders program and intensified tax campaigns in various media platforms,  shoring up revenues. — Siegfrid Alegado/VS, GMA News