Income tax to still make up bulk of BIR 13 collection

CEBU, Philippines — Bulk of the tax collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue-13 in Cebu will come from personal income taxes despite the impact seen from the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) which cuts personal taxes.

BIR-13 is set to collect P18.3 billion in personal income taxes this year.

Regional director Aynie Dizon said the agency was expecting a reduction in personal income tax collection, with the TRAIN exempting those earning an annual taxable income of P250,000 and below from paying income taxes.

It is believe to benefit over six million compensation earners starting January this year. The 13th month pay and other bonuses not exceeding a total of P90,000 are also tax exempt under TRAIN.

For those earning P250,000 and above, the tax brackets have also been adjusted so that those with taxable income of more than P250,00 but not above P2 million pay only between 20 and 30 percent PIT.

TRAIN's impact on BIR-13's collection is pegged at P2.5 billion.

That's why BIR-13's collection goal was adjusted to P31.3 billion from the initial P33.8 billion.

Based on official data, BIR-13 is set to collect this year P9.4 billion in value-added tax (VAT); P11.6 million in excise taxes; P1.2 billion in percentage taxes; P2.5 billion in other taxes.

In 2017, BIR-13 collected P27.59 billion, 6.11 percent short of its P29.38 billion.

Dizon had said the growing economy of Cebu is a significant factor in the agency's revenue generation growth this year.

BIR-13 collects taxes in Cebu and Bohol through five revenue district offices.

In December, BIR-13 launched its segmentation of medium taxpayers which is seen to help its collection efficiency improve.

Dizon had said the expected growth in medium taxpayers' contribution to revenue collection could be attributed to the increase in business sales and transactions, and improved monitoring of their compliance.

The said top 500 taxpayers comprise the Medium Taxpayers Segment (MTS) of the region.

During its initial implementation, the project will cover the top 500 non-individual taxpayers. In the next five years, BIR-13 is looking to increase the number to 1,500 to eventually increase the tax contribution of the group to more than 50 percent. (FREEMAN)