THE government has ramped up its revenue collection, hitting P2.22 trillion in the first seven months of the current year, or 9.6-percent higher compared to the same period in 2023.
In a Facebook post, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BoC) had already exceeded their collection targets for the year.
Preliminary data from January to July this year shows that the Tax Bureau collected P1.68 trillion, marking a 13-percent increase from the P1.5 trillion recorded in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Custom collections rose by 6.0 percent to P536.42 billion from last year's P506.5 billion.
The government is targeting to collect P4.3 trillion for 2024, with the BIR tasked to generate P3.05 trillion and the Customs accounting for around P1 trillion.
Recto held the third BIR and BoC Command Conference on Friday to review the agencies' collection performances and discuss strategies for meeting their annual targets.
"The BIR will ramp up the implementation of its digitalization programs, intensify its tax enforcement programs, and run after delinquent accounts," Recto said.
For the BoC, Recto said it would continue to improve on its "assessment and collection of duties and taxes on importation, ensure importer's compliance with customs' laws, and strengthen border protection to detect undervalued and misclassified commodities."
He expressed gratitude to both agencies for their ongoing efforts to enhance tax and customs administration, securing essential revenues for public programs and projects.
Recto also expects the government's collections will rise due to accelerated economic growth following the recent interest rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippines' credit rating upgrade to A- by Rating and Investment Information Inc. of Japan.
The Monetary Board has reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, ending the 17-year high of 6.5 percent.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. is hopeful that the rate cut will significantly impact the country's growth, saying growth could go higher than the lower-end target of the government.
Gross domestic product growth came in stronger in the second quarter of 2024 at 6.3 percent, higher than the previous year's 4.3 percent.
This has contributed to the credit upgrade by R&I, which cited the country's fiscal improvements and economic growth.
The Philippines' credit rating was upgraded from BBB+ with a positive outlook to A- with a stable outlook. Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. also assigned an A- rating with a stable outlook.
R&I expects steady growth and increasing national income, driven by factors such as public and private sector investments, the business process outsourcing industry, and favorable demographics.
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