BIR, Customs surpass revenue collection target

The government has surpassed its revenue targets during the first year of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s administration, the Office of the Press Secretary said Sunday.

Citing the year-end report of the Department of Finance, the OPS said emerging revenue collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs have reached P3.2 trillion, surpassing the full-year 2022 Development Budget Coordination Committee target by 2.2 percent.

The finance department also facilitated the implementation of grants and technical assistance amounting to an estimated $85.5 million.

The OPS also cited other DOF accomplishments such as the resolution on tax incentives for business activities outside zone limits, commitment to Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives, and the revision of the implementing rules and regulations for the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.

The DoF also showcased the country's bright economic prospects during meetings with credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's, and Fitch and Moody's.

This is in addition to the DoF's hosting of the 55th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank.

Next year, the DoF hopes to rightsize the bureaucracy as it works toward streamlining its organization and processes to maximize efficiency and use of public funds.

It also eyes to continue pushing key measures, including Package 3 and 4, Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics, Value Added Tax on Digital Service Providers, Ease of Paying Taxes and Mining Fiscal Regime.

It will also target private sector fund mobilization through public-private partnership projects and will launch pioneering projects with Project Management Office-led assets such as Basay Mining Rights, Tala Estate Property and Food Terminal Inc. Property.

Tax administration reforms will also be implemented to enhance tax efforts, maximize the government's revenue potential, simplify taxpayer compliance and automate the BIR and BoC processes.

The national government is expected to secure next year around $19.1 billion worth of official development assistance, $9.2 billion worth of loans from multilateral development partners, and $9.8 billion in loans from bilateral lenders.