The bulk of the revenues was attributable to the tobacco excise, auto excise, and documentary stamp tax collections, which stood at P51.5 billion. #TRAINlawcollection

Sec. Dominguez said the figure surpassed the Bureau of Internal Revenue's (BIR) target for the six-month period by P1.8 billion. (BoC)

MANILA — Revenues from the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law rose 65 percent year on year to P55.6 billion by end of June, Department of Finance (DoF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said on Wednesday.

Citing preliminary data, Dominguez said the figure surpassed the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) target for the six-month period by P1.8 billion, and the Bureau of Customs’ (BoC) by P1.7 billion.

“We are confident this growth will be sustained in the coming period through continuing administrative reforms and the completion of the comprehensive tax reform program that will make our tax system simpler, fairer, and more efficient,” Dominguez said during a Senate hearing on the proposed DoF 2020 budget.

Dominguez said automation of processes in both the BIR and BoC would help the agencies further increase collections and prevent slippage.

In 2018, the government was able to collect P68.4 billion from TRAIN, higher than the year’s target of P63.3 billion.

The bulk of the revenues was attributable to the tobacco excise, auto excise, and documentary stamp tax collections, which stood at P51.5 billion.

The TRAIN Law exempts workers with an annual income of P250,000 and below from paying income tax.

To address the law’s negative impact on government revenues, it increased excise tax on oil products and introduced excise tax on sweetened beverages and automobile.