DOF to hit revenue target despite BIR slowdown

The Department of Finance (DOF) expressed confidence that it will still be able to meet its P4.21-trillion revenue target for the year despite experiencing a noticeable slowdown in tax collections.

- By MARCO LUIS BEECH

Acknowledging the issues that affected tax payments, Finance Undersecretary Charlito Martin Mendoza said the government might fall short of its tax revenue target but expects to offset the gap through higher collections from non-tax revenues.

"Hopefully, we will be able to recover. However, we admit that because of everything that is happening, there’s been an impact on our tax revenues," said Mendoza, head of DOF’s revenue operations group.

Mendoza added that once the system is corrected, the momentum in tax collections is expected to recover and improve in the succeeding periods.

"We might not be able to meet our tax revenues, but we will be able to cover for that from our non-tax revenues," he said.

Recent data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that non-tax revenues declined by 65.8 percent year-on-year to P15.8 billion in September from P46.2 billion.