A Cabinet official said that digitalization of tax collection is a priority goal of the government.

"The Covid-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for the Philippines to quicken improvements to revenue agencies' online filing and payment systems, which helped maintain and even improve tax collections amid the crisis," Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said during the 29th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand recently.

Diokno said the transition to digital payment systems saw a five-percent increase in taxpayers and an 84-percent increase in electronic payments in 2021.

"Revenue collections expanded by 5.2 percent year-on-year and even went beyond the government's target by over 4 percent," he added.

Moreover, the secretary also said the digitalization of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs operations made efficient tax administration through electronic means.

The move resulted in the steady inflow of revenues that gave the government the fiscal space it needed to orchestrate Covid-19 response programs.

"The government sees sustained positive developments in its latest collection report. Collections from January to August 2022 grew by 18 percent compared to the same period in 2021, which is seven percent higher than the expected target," the secretary added.

The increase has caused the government's primary deficit to drop by more than 26 percent year-on-year, Diokno said.

Meanwhile, for the January to August 2022 period, the taxman said it collected P1.559 trillion, up 12.25 percent or P170.168 billion year-on-year.

"Said collections represent more than 98 percent attainment of the BIR's emerging goal of P1.586 trillion for the said period," the agency said.

Internal Revenue Commissioner Lilia Guillermo said the BIR is eyeing a 98 percent fully-electronic filing of taxes in 2022.

Furthermore, the gathering of finance ministers explored areas in fiscal policies, taxation regimes, redistribution programs, investment incentives, digital leverage, and sustainable development that would promote digitalization and sustainability as drivers for economic growth.