Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Monday asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue to surpass its tax collection targets for the year.
Dominguez, in a message on the BIR’s 117th anniversary, commended the agency under the leadership of Commissioner Caesar Dulay for embarking on a comprehensive digitalization program ahead of the pandemic, which enabled it to continue functioning effectively during the lockdowns and collect almost all income taxes through electronic means.
Complemented by a relentless drive against tax cheats and an enhanced tax amnesty program, Dominguez said the BIR’s digitalization initiatives helped prop up the country’s fiscal position ahead of the pandemic, an unprecedented global health and economic crises that subsequently forced the government to spend big on COVID-19 response.
Dominguez said the pandemic, which proved to be a tough foe, would continue to test the Philippines’ fiscal stamina as the government would spend even more to strengthen the healthcare system.