MANILA: The national government expects its key revenue-generating agencies to reach for double-digit growth in collections in 2016, even as both the Internal Revenue and Customs bureaus continue to fall short of targets this year.
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According to the 2016 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, the government has set a P2.026-trillion target for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), 21% higher than the 2015 goal.
The Bureau of Customs, on the other hand, is expected to collect P498.7 billion next year, up 14% from the 2015 target.
The heads of the two agencies said they will work hard to meet expectations.
“It’s aspirational. All their goals are aspirational. We’ll just keep on working hard doing what needs to be done,” BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares yesterday said in a telephone interview.
Customs Commissioner Alberto D. Lina, for his part, said in a media briefing: “Let’s give it a chance. We have to really aim high. Let’s pray that we accomplish it.”
BIR’s collections at the end of June hit P705.87 billion, up 10% year on year but 13% short of the target for the first six months of 2015.
Customs collections reached P178.36 billion last semester, 11.8% short of that period’s P202.185-billion target and up just 2.9% from the equivalent period in 2014.
Sought for comment, Prof. Benjamin E. Diokno of the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Economics said in a text message the revenue goals may be “bloated”.
“Consistently this administration has overestimated its revenue intakes perhaps to justify huge spending authority from Congress. Yet it consistently underspends,” Mr. Diokno said.
“The power of Congress is reduced if it dutifully approves a budget based on ambitious but clearly shaky revenue assumptions. It gives the Executive the power to cherry pick the power to choose what budget item to fund and what to impound,” he added.
The national government aims to increase its revenue ratio to 17.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) or P2.697 billion, from the 16.3% goal this year. The target for next year’s tax effort has been likewise set at 16.5% of GDP, from the 15.3% goal this year.
Revenue effort in the first quarter stood at 15.49%, falling short of the target thus far but higher than the 13.84% ratio recorded last year. Tax effort stood at 13.27%, up from 12.34% but short of the 15.3% goal.
