Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
MANILA – Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the strong take-up on Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) electronic processes allows for a more efficient tax collection needed to raise revenues for government programs.
In his speech during the virtual awarding ceremony for the Hack-A-Tax Innovation on Monday, Dominguez said BIR’s move to use electronic channels for tax payments benefited both the agency and the taxpayers.
He cited that in 2019, tax payments made through electronic channels totaled to PHP1.8 trillion, about 84 percent of the agency’s total collections last year.
Those collected from small businesses and individual taxpayers alone amounted to PHP1.2 billion, a 94-percent hike year-on-year.
“Thanks in large part to our strong revenue performance in the preceding year, we were in a very good fiscal position by the time the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic hit us. The experience of dealing with this contagion will definitely hasten our digitalization in many aspects of our national life. The Philippine government is gearing up for this,” he added.
Dominguez said that while authorities expect lower revenue collections this year because of the pandemic’s economic impact, “we are supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and we look forward to returning to the path of high growth when this emergency is over.”
“The increased use of digital technologies will help us bounce back faster and stronger. The BIR is well prepared for the new normal. The digital transformation process the BIR has set into motion serves as a standard for all other agencies in government to emulate,” he added.
Economic managers expect the domestic economy to contract by 2 percent to 3.4 percent this year as a result of the pandemic, but it is seen to recover with a growth of 7.1 percent to 8.1 percent next year. (PNA)
