News Update Revenue collection highest in over a decade

MANILA, Philippines - Government revenues rose 13.1 percent to hit its highest level in over a decade as of November 2011 even without new taxes and big-ticket asset sales, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said yesterday. The finance chief said this is higher than the P1.104 trillion raised in the same period in 2010. Finance data showed the government raised P1.249 trillion as of end-November 2011 through its two major revenue agencies, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC). “This is the highest in at least over a decade without new taxes and without asset sales, purely from efficiency improvement – in an economy that didn’t go very fast, and that is why we continue to focus on this because we believe that it’s not only more fun in the Philippines. By focusing on this, we’ll have more funds in the Treasury,” Purisima said. Purisima said it is crucial for the government to address to raise funds to be able to build more infrastructure. “If we are to address the increasing number of people at the very bottom, we cannot ignore them. We need to invest in them because it’s important that they become our partner in the growth of the country as we’re able to solve the constraints,” he said. The Bureau of Internal Revenue, the government’s main tax agency, has not yet released data on its collection performance last year. On the other hand, the Bureau of Customs, the government’s second-largest revenue agency, missed its collection target of P320 billion for 2011, raising only P263.85 billion or a shortfall of P57 billion. - By Iris C. Gonzales