The Department of Finance urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to collect an average of P8.60 billion in taxes to support the government’s P17.40 billion in daily spending.
DOF Secretary Ralph Recto, speaking at the BIR’s 121st anniversary on Aug. 1, 2025, lauded the agency’s efforts.
“Without your thankless and tireless labor, the government will not be able to redeem its promises to the people, and the nation will not be able to realize its dreams,” Recto said.
BIR collections increased 13.29 percent to P2.852 trillion in 2024. From January to June 2025, collections continued their double-digit growth, rising 14.11 percent to P1.55 trillion.
Recto said all government programs and projects are ultimately funded by taxpayers, with the BIR and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) being the primary revenue collectors. He called for strict fiscal discipline to ensure spending aligns with revenue capacity and to prevent over-appropriation.
“Even so-called ‘free items’ adored by the people today will have to be paid for later, by them. When the bill comes, it is the taxpayer who will pay the tab. The buck stops with them,” he said.
Recto also acknowledged the challenges of tax collection in a political environment where spending taxes is often seen as a virtue, but collecting them as a “sin,” and tax evasion as a “sport.”
He assured the public that every peso collected would be spent wisely and transparently to encourage greater tax compliance.
“People are naturally born resistant to taxes. But their tax obedience can be won if they will see how the taxes they paid are spent for the right things, at the right price, by the right agency, at the right time,” Recto said.
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