BIR banks on better tax administration to make up for Jan.-May collection shortfall

REPORT FROM BUSINESSWORLD The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects about P5.7 billion in additional revenues for the second half of the year, largely from various measures aimed at improving tax administration. If achieved, the targeted amount will plug BIR’s shortfall in collections from January to May vis-a-vis its target. BIR was P4.2-billion short of meeting its cumulative P272.2-billion target for the first five months of the year. The internal revenue agency has a P675.4-billion revenue goal for the year. It is important that the government meets its target collection because it uses the money for its programmed investments, especially for much-needed infrastructure. The expected additional revenues to plug the shortfall will come from an "Action Plan for July to December" presented by BIR Commissioner Jose Mario C. Buñag in a Command Conference with President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo last Monday. There are six measures to fill the expected additional revenues. First is the launch of "Premyo sa Resibo" promotion from which BIR expects P700 million in additional revenues. The promotion encourages habitual demand by customers for a valid receipt when purchasing at any store. BIR raffles the collected receipts for a price. Second is a plan to intensify industry profiling and benchmarking nationwide, from which P1.9 billion in additional revenues are expected. Under this plan, BIR will hunt low tax-compliant companies, "which shall be targets for surveillance and audit." BIR will also rank the top 10 tax-compliant companies per region. Another is a plan to revive a so-called Operation Accounts Receivable, or Oplan ARec, from which some P500 million in additional revenues are expected. The program, based on Mr. Buñag’s presentation, will allow taxpayers to avail of compromise settlement -- with the privilege of reducing penalties -- in settling delinquent accounts. The BIR will also expand a program, called: Reconciliation of Listing for Enforcement, or RELIEF. This plan is expected to add P1 billion more. The internal revenue agency said it would undertake a "more rigid surveillance/inventory-taking" of low-compliant taxpayers. Some P1.2 billion in additional revenues are expected from this measure. Lastly, BIR will implement a "No Operation Return" project, which is expected to generate P400 million in additional revenues. This measure seeks to hunt those businesses that indicate in their tax returns that they are not operating -- when in fact they are operating -- as a ploy to avoid payments. There are other measures that BIR included in its plan to increase collections. These are to enhance quality of customer service, expand computer-assisted programs in regional offices, revalidate tax credit certificates, and to intensify and improve tax-mapping operations. Without the plans mentioned above, BIR’s target revenue for the month of June is P46.009 billion. BIR expects collections from: voluntary compliance -- P35.761 billion, "reformed" value-added tax, P2.147 billion; enforcement activities, P809 million; delinquent accounts, P172 million; and so-called "special efforts/initiatives," P7.454 billion. The sum of all these expected collections for June is higher by P334 million than BIR’s target. – PJLL/BusinessWorld