President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shared on Tuesday that the revenue collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in 2024 was the highest the government has seen in over two decades.

According to the BIR, the government was able to collect nearly P3 trillion in taxes last year. In 2024, the BIR collected over P2.85 trillion surpassing the P2.52 trillion record in 2023.

With this record revenue, Marcos said 1.14 million new schools can be built, over 190,000 roads can be connected, and more than 167,000 rural health facilities can be established.

Marcos encouraged the public to continue paying proper taxes on time as it can help with the development of the nation.

“Today, we are renewing our call on our countrymen to pay their taxes on schedule,” he said. “Every citizen who follows the correct payment of taxes becomes a part of nation building.”

Stronger tax collection

The BIR has strengthened its tax collection efforts by expanding the tax base, simplifying key processes and documentary requirements, and digitalizing the tax system.

The improvement enabled nearly 75,000 new establishments to register in the BIR bringing the total number of registered taxpayers to nearly 5.7 million.

In addition, the BIR also intensified its compliance enforcement by inspecting and verifying 307,028 establishments, recovering P257.01 million through compliance checks.

Marcos also lauded the agency’s efforts against tax fraud especially through the Run After Fake Transactions (RAFT) program, which led to cases filed against ghost sellers and buyers.

The RAFT program has recovered in P4.33 billion in 2024. In comparison, P617.95 million was collected in 2023.

Crackdowns on illicit trade such as cigarettes, vapes and other excisable goods also contributed to the high revenue of the government. This generated a total revenue of P110.33 million in 2024.