Government seeks to collect P3T revenues in 2017

MANILA, Philippines – The government aims to collect more than P3 trillion in taxes next year.

Based on projections made by the Department of Budget and Management, revenue agencies, principally the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), will have a collection target of P3.04 trillion.

This is bigger than the entire budget for this year, which amounts to P3.002 trillion.

It will be P300 billion more than the collection goal for this year, which is P2.697 trillion, of which about P2 trillion is to be raised by BIR Commissioner Kim Henares and her collectors.

The 2017 revenue target is nearly P1 trillion more than actual collections in 2015, which amounted to P2.109 trillion.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the incoming administration would have to continue aiming for a net increase in annual tax collections to support the bigger national budget, increased public spending and economic growth of at least 6.8 percent.

He said the next president would have to seek new revenue legislation from Congress.

“Existing revenue measures only provide the country with a narrow revenue base that is not enough to support its growing development needs. Hence, to expand this revenue base, it is necessary for the government to implement both administrative and new legislative measures starting 2017,” he said.

  None of the presidential candidates is promising to seek new tax legislation. On the contrary, they are vowing to reduce income taxes, both for individual and corporate taxpayers.       

At least two of them, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe, have vowed to fire Henares, whom President Aquino has repeatedly praised for her sterling performance.

Henares has told Binay and Poe that she did not have to be fired, as she would retire on June 30, when Aquino finishes his six-year term.

Aquino has said his administration has been able to double the national budget and increase public spending because the BIR has collected more than twice the amount it raised under former President Arroyo.

He said the “highest collection on record was in 2008, at P778.6 billion.”

The BIR raised P1.1 trillion in 2012, the first time collections hit the one-trillion-peso mark, he said.

“We needed only five years to match, surpass, and almost double our predecessor’s record high,” he added.

Aside from presidential aspirants, senatorial candidates frown upon the idea of imposing new taxes.

Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez vowed yesterday to oppose any tax measure if he wins a Senate seat.

“The government needs more resources, but sustaining the increasing expenditures should not burden the poorest of the poor. Instead of passing tax measures, we should strengthen financial transactions through the passage of Freedom of Information Bill to address tax leakage and all forms of corruption,” he said.

“To afford the ordinary Juan and his family a decent standard of living, we need tax reform – adjust exemptions and deductions so people will have more money to take home and spend for their families. We have to adjust tax rates at least for inflation,” he said.