High TRAIN compliance ups BIR collection

The high compliance by the business sector with the government’s tax reform agenda aided the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to exceed its revenue target collection in the first six months of this year by more than 100 percent.

According to BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay, his agency collected P968.97 billion for the first semester of 2018, surpassing its revenue by 13 percent from the same period last year pegged at P938.786 billion.

Two things allowed the BIR to achieve the feat. “Taxpayers compliance with the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law and teamwork within the bureau,” he said.

The BIR’s tax collection efforts were lauded by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III who congratulated the bureau for its achievements during its 114th anniversary on Wednesday.

Dominguez told the crowd the TRAIN law seeks to create a level playing field for business and generate “a reliable revenue process to support both economic investments and more robust social services.”

He also noted the importance of the remaining packages of the ongoing tax reform.

The finance chief added the remaining packages of TRAIN are essential for long-term sustainability of the country’s economic growth and to attract more investors as well. The Department of Finance submitted the next TRAIN tranches to Congress for their ratification.