The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects collections to improve in the coming months as the new withholding tax on online salesffetc.
“Withholding tax collections from online retailers are expected to arrive in early November, so that will help,” BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. he told reporters on the sidelines of the forum on Wednesday.
“In the coming weeks, we will be aggressive in enforcing the law,” he added.
The BIR has notified retailers and online sellers of their withholding obligation from July 15.
Mr. Lumagui did not say whether the BIR expects to hit its P3.05-trillion collection total for this year.
The bureau expects to collect P332.17 billion in October, P254.56 billion in November, and P210.89 billion in December.
“In terms of the rate of growth, we can say that the collection so far has been better compared to the collection of last year,” he said.
According to the Treasury, BIR collections at the end of August increased by 12.55% year-on-year to P1.92 trillion.
Mr. Lumagui cited difficulties in the collection of excise duty due to the disallowance of many transactions.
“Many (sellers) do not have their products registered and marked with revenue stamps,” he said.
Earlier this year, the BIR required internal revenue stamps to be affixed on all vape products, as a way to easily distinguish between legitimate and smuggled products.
The government aims to collect P326.2 billion in excise taxes this year, or about 10.68% of its total revenue target.
Meanwhile, the BIR estimates that the revenue will take more than P7 billion after the government banned the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry.
“The revenue lost due to the POGO ban will be huge, but we also have to consider the social costs of the industry,” he said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in July he banned gambling operators along the coast, citing allegations of the industry’s involvement in various illegal activities.
The BIR wants to eliminate the revenue by tightening the law in other areas, said Mr. Lumagui. – Beatriz Marie D. Cruz