The combined collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs plummeted 48.6 percent in May to P135.5 billion from P263.6 billion a year ago as the economy continued to bear the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Data from the Department of Finance showed that the revenue collections by the two agencies in May were also 61.7 percent short of the P353.8-billion target for the month.
The BIR collected P105.44 billion in May, down by P100.04 billion or 48.68 percent from the P205.47-billion take in the same month last year and P215.03 billion (67.1 percent) short of the P320.47 billion target.
The BOC collected P30.01 billion in May, lower by P28.16 billion or 48.41 percent than its P58.17-billion take a year earlier. The May collection was also P3.32 billion or 9.96 percent short of the P33.33-billion target for the month.
Combined collections in the first five months also tumbled 24.83 percent to P874.91 billion from P1.164 trillion a year ago. The tally was P187.5 billion or 17.65-percent below the revised collection target of P1.062 trillion for the period.
BIR collections from Jan. 1 to May 31 reached P664.74 billion, down by P247.53 billion or 27.13 percent from P912.26 billion collected in the same period in 2019. The BIR’s performance was 21.7 percent or P184.17 billion short of the P848.91-billion target for the period.
Customs collections amounted to P210.18 billion in the five-month period, which was P41.54 billion or 16.5 percent lower than the P251.71 billion collected a year earlier and P3.33 billion or 1.56 percent short of the target of P213.51 billion.
The DOF said that with several top taxpayers heeding the government’s call to file their income tax returns ahead of the deferred payment deadlines, the BIR’s Large Taxpayers Service collected P189.46 billion in income taxes in the first five months. This was P87.93 billion or 31.7 percent lower than the LTS collection in the same period in 2019.
It was also P67.86 billion or 26.37 percent below the target of P257.32 billion for the period. As a result, total income tax collections amounted to P341.58 billion in the first five months, or P146.85 billion (30 percent) lower than P488.43 billion collected in the same period last year.
The January to May income tax collection was P98.26 billion or 22.34 percent short of the target of P439.84 billion.
Value-added tax collections of the BIR from large taxpayers amounted to P88.1 billion in the five-month period, which was P15.82 billion or 15.22 percent lower than the P103.92 billion collected a year ago.
Total VAT collections in the five-month period reached P125.52 billion, down by P33.7 billion or 21.17 percent from the P159.22 billion collected in the same period in 2019. VAT collections in May alone fell to P15.43 billion from P32.38 billion in May 2019.
The deadline for the filing of the annual income tax returns–originally set every April 15 of the year—was extended this year to June 15 to provide taxpayers enough time to prepare and file their ITRs following the lockdowns put in place nationwide since March to contain the spread of COVID-19.