SunStar
+ February 14, 2021 THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has aimed to increase its collection by 7.23 percent to P2.08 trillion this year by improving tax compliance among all taxpayers, strengthening its budget management system, speeding up its recruitment and promotion of employees, expanding its computerization efforts, and further intensifying its enforcement activities.
In his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay said its enforcement activities include the Oplan Kandado program, Run After Tax Evaders (Rate) program, and tax audits, among others.
Dulay said under the Oplan Kandado program, 209 establishments were padlocked for tax law violations, which led to the collection of P607.87 million in taxes in 2020.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco
(Lord Allan Velasco’s Office / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Of the total fund, nearly a third or P108 billion, will finance another social amelioration scheme for impacted households through programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Velasco filed Thursday, February 4, House Bill 8628 or the proposed “Bayanihan to Arise as One Act”, to be known as Bayanihan 3. The bill is expected to be referred to its committee assignment on Monday.
Already, 115 House members have declared support for the immediate approval of the measure. They have also signified their intention to co-author HB 8628.
Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, who previously filed her own economic stimulus measure, is a principal proponent of HB 8628.
Published February 5, 2021, 5:00 AM
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) expects the number of jobless Filipinos will not return to its pre-pandemic level next year as the domestic labor market situation is seen to remain “very difficult.”
Based on the Updated Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 released by NEDA, the unemployment rate will remain elevated at 7.0 percent to 9.0 percent until 2022, above the 5.1 percent level registered in 2019.
The latest PDP goal is also well above the government’s pre-pandemic unemployment rate assumption of 3.0 percent to 5.0 percent by 2022.
Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN file photo)
Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the expected high jobless rate in 2022 is due to “a big additional supply of workers” following the full implementation of the 12-year basic education program, commonly known as K to 12.
February 4, 2021 | 12:31 am Advertisement
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The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is streamlining the requirements and procedures for claiming value-added tax (VAT) refunds. BW FILE PHOTO
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is aiming to increase excise tax revenues by 13% this year, as it expects economic activity to pick up as pandemic-related restrictions are further eased.
The BIR set a P332.102-billion excise tax collection target for 2021, 12.6% higher than the P294.91 billion collected last year. Excise tax collections from large taxpayers slumped by 7% in 2020, due to the strict lockdown measures and economic slowdown.
The BIR attributed the higher target to the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) projection that the Philippine economy will return to a growth trajectory this year.
Published February 2, 2021, 3:18 PM
The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) surplus surged to an all-time high of $16.02 billion in 2020 on the back of higher reserves due to more net foreign borrowings by the National Government (NG) last year, and weak import demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic which constrained economic activities.
The end-2020 BOP surplus exceeded the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) estimate of $12.8 billion. For 2021, the BSP and the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee is projecting a lower BOP surplus of $3.3 billion as the economy slowly recovers from the pandemic-induced recession. In 2020, the local GDP contracted by 9.5 percent.
Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg file