BIR eyes 7.23% increase in 2021 tax haul to P2.08t

The Bureau of Internal Revenue expects to increase tax collection by 7.23 percent to P2.08 trillion this year from P1.94 trillion in 2020 on improving tax compliance among all taxpayers, Commissioner Caesar Dulay said in a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

Dulay said the effort would be supported by strengthening its budget management system, speeding up recruitment and promotion of employees, expanding computerization efforts and intensifying enforcement activities such as Oplan Kandado, Run After Tax Evaders program and tax audits.

Dulay said the BIR planned to roll out the Enhanced Internal Revenue Stamp Integrated System in the first quarter to step up the campaign against cigarette smuggling.

The nationwide rollout of the Internal Revenue Integrated System which will serve as the BIR’s central tool and repository to process taxpayers’ information is expected in the fourth quarter along with the pilot implementation of the Electronic Invoicing System, he said.

The On-Line Registration and Update System, a web-based system that will provide an end-to-end process for registration and updating of taxpayer registration information, is also due for implementation in the fourth quarter, he said.

Dulay said that in the first quarter this year, the BIR’s Collection Performance Dashboard would be up and running.

This will enable the central office to check the collection performance of each collecting office/revenue region of the BIR against the assigned goal, compare it with the previous year and classify it by type of collection, he said.

The BIR will also allow taxpayers to book online appointments with revenue officers regarding tax-related concerns starting this year, Dulay said.

He said the bureau was targeting to complete its in-house developed One-Time Transaction tracking system this year to allow it to monitor the ONETT transactions from the date the taxpayer secured the services of the revenue officers for the computation of the tax due up to the time of securing the Electronic Certificates Authorizing Registration.

He said the BIR was able to surpass its collection goal in 2020 through the strict monitoring of tax compliance, topped by making good use of the bureau’s Taxpayer Account Management Program.

The BIR’s strict monitoring of tax compliance also included withholding the remittances of national government agencies, local government units, top withholding taxpayers and other private withholding agents and employing online facilities.

The bureau collected P1.94 trillion in 2020, 15.14 percent over the revised goal of P1.68 trillion set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee for last year.

Dulay said the BIR also intensified its collection of delinquent accounts in 2020, with a total of 207 warrants for garnishment and distraint and levy issued, which led to the collection of P690 million in taxes.

Compromise tax settlements in 2020 resulted in another P308.96 million in taxes paid to the BIR.

Dulary said that last year, the BIR was able to heighten its audit and enforcement activities despite the pandemic through the organized issuance of electronic letters of authority, the prompt issuance of subpoenas, preliminary assessment notices and final assessment notices to delinquent taxpayers.

The BIR also launched an information campaign on its tax amnesty for delinquent accounts and estate taxes, and its Voluntary Assessment and Payment Program.

Dulay said the bureau collected P5.63 billion in 2020 from delinquent filers and estate taxes, or 97 percent more than the P2.86 billion collected from errant taxpayers in 2019.

The Run After Tax Evaders program led to the filing of 157 cases before the Department of Justice with aggregate tax liabilities of P7.45 billion, and another 24 cases filed with the Court of Tax Appeals with total estimated liabilities of P753.75 million.

Under the Oplan Kandado program, 209 establishments were padlocked for tax law violations, which led to the collection of P607.87 million in taxes.

The BIR shut down the operations of two Philippine offshore gaming operators in 2020 and collected P7.18 billion in taxes, which was 11.71 percent more than the P6.42 billion collected by the BIR in 2019 from these businesses.

The second phase of the BIR’s Asset Information Management Program was also implemented in 2020, he said.