The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was able to exceed its first-quarter collection target after a strong performance in March.
BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said the government’s largest collection agency was able to exceed its target for the first three months of the year by P2.51 billion after its collections of P199.55 billion as against its goal of P197.04 billion.
The first-quarter figure was higher by P25.65 billion, or a growth of close to 15 percent, compared with its revenues in the same period last year of P173.89 billion, the agency said.
“I would like to congratulate my colleagues at the BIR for their performance. I am happy and proud to head such an organization whose people take their role in nation-building seriously but, more important, are not afraid to do so despite the cost and pressures,” Henares said.
For March, the BIR collected a total of P71.56 billion, exceeding its P68.07 target by P3.5 billion.
March collections have offset most of the agency’s losses in February after the Bureau of Treasury rejected some bids for the auction of its Treasury bonds and Treasury bills for the period.
The BIR was able to collection only P53.4 billion for February or 6 percent shy of its goal. The BIR withholds interest earned from government security papers.
In January, the agency enjoyed an excess in its collection of P2.6 billion versus its P72-billion goal.
The BIR is tasked to collect P105.12 billion for the entire month of April, or 15 percent higher than its actual tax take of P91.5 billion in April last year. Henares earlier said she was confident of hitting the agency’s goal after the agency was able plug the loopholes in tax administration.
For the entire year, the interagency the Development and Budget Coordination Committee has given BIR some P940-billion tax-collection target to support the Aquino administration’s P1.645-trillion budget for 2011.
