BIR tops October collection target

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) exceeded its collection target in October, netting P274.429 billion or 8.57 percent more than the P252.77-billion goal.

The amount was also 46.94 percent higher compared to the P186.76 billion netted a year earlier.

BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. credited the surge to enforcement efforts, particularly a campaign against the production and use of counterfeit receipts.

“With the continuous streamlining and digitization of the BIR’s core services, we hope to encourage all noncompliant taxpayers to comply fully with the provisions and requirements of the tax laws so we can attain, and even surpass, our annual collection target this year,” Lumagui said in a statement on Tuesday.

Year to date, total BIR collections reached P2.132 trillion, 11 percent higher compared to the P1.921 trillion posted in the comparable 2022 period.

The bureau has been told to collect P2.639 trillion this year, 12.9 percent more than the actual 2022 take of P2.34 trillion.

A 12.36-percent decline in collections to P152.2 billion was recorded in September. While year-to-date collections at that point were 7.25 percent higher on an annual basis at P1.9 trillion, it fell short of the P1.93-trillion target.