Tax revenues to hit P187B in 2020

STATE REVENUES from the government’s tax reform measures are projected to reach P187.1 billion next year, a senior official of the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Thursday.

“Revenues attributable to the comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) are projected to contribute an additional P187.1 billion next year,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran told lawmakers during the
Development Budget Coordination Committee briefing on the 2020 national budget at the Senate.

The projected 2020 revenues, he said, includes P153.8 billion from Republic Act 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (Train); P15.5 billion from RA 11346; and P17.8 billion from the CTRP’s Package 2 Plus.

Implemented at the start of 2018, Train exempts those earning annual taxable incomes of P250,000 and below from paying personal income taxes. In exchange, new taxes were imposed on automobiles, fuel and sugar-sweetened beverages, among others.

In 2018, revenues attributable to Train amounted to P68.4 billion, exceeding its full-year target of P63.3 billion by 8.1 percent.

RA 11346, meanwhile, imposes higher taxes on cigarettes and a new tax on electronic cigarettes and other alternative devices for smoking.

Package 2 Plus, which aims to increase excise taxes on alcohol and e-cigarettes, was approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading on August 20.

As for Package 2 and 4, Betran said the tax measures are revenue neutral, as they aim “make tax incentives and corporate income, passive income and financial intermediary taxes simpler, fairer, more efficient and regionally competitive.”

Lastly, he said the Duterte administration would continue to engage Congress in passing the remaining tax reform packages that would generate additional revenue streams for government to fund social programs.