BIR, BOC Post Strong Revenues in 2017

Both the Bureau of the Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) posted double digit growth in their collections in 2017.

Citing Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, in a message to reporters Thursday, said indicative collections of the BIR rose by 12.5 percent while that of the BOC improved year-on-year by 17 percent.

BTr data show that BIR collected Php1.567 trillion in 2016 while BOC’s revenues during the same period amounted to Php396.4 billion.

BIR was tasked to collect Php1.829 trillion in 2017 and BOC Php468 billion.

Also, Dominguez said preliminary figures show that government spending improved by 13.8 percent year-on-year last year.

The Duterte government has set a Php2.91 trillion spending goal for 2017.

BTr data show that as of end-November last year, revenues rose by 11 percent year-on-year to Php2.25 trillion.

Of the total, the BIR, which collects around 70 percent of state revenues, shared in Php1.62 trillion while BOC’s contribution amounted to Php413.1 billion.

Collections of the BIR rose 12 percent in the first 11 months last year while BOC’s went up by 14 percent.

Last November alone, BIR collections went up by 14 percent to Php179.4 billion while BOC’s rose by 15 percent toPhp46.4 billion.

Total expenditures last November rose 10 percent to Php252.1 billion while the end-November 2017 spending also rose 10 percent to Php2.493 trillion.

Dominguez earlier said he has tasked officials of both the BIR and the BOC to really firm up their collections since this is needed to fund the Duterte administration’s program particularly on infrastructure and social services.

Infrastructure spending is a major program of the current government as it targets to spend around Php8.4 trillion until 2022 to provide the necessary infrastructure such as roads and bridges not only in major areas of the country but most specially in far-flung areas of Mindanao.

The government has programmed to increase infrastructure investment from around five percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to about 7.4 percent of GDP by the end of its term.