By LEE C. CHIPONGIAN
The government expects to collect higher non-tax revenues this year or P25 billion more than programmed, reports said.
The Department of Finance said these administrative or non-tax measures are back-up collections to help ease shortfalls in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.
As of August, non-tax revenues have reached almost
P78.3 billion, surpassing target of P77 billion for the full-year. From September to December, the emerging number is P23.1 billion, bloating the total to P101.4 billion by the end of the year.
"The expected underperformance for BIR and BoC will be offset by the favorable performance of the non-tax collections," the DoF said. The Bureau of Treasury, in the meantime, reported higher income of
P48.1 billion in the first eight months. It has already overshot its 2005 target by P22. 6 billion.
The DoF has also revised the target for non-tax revenues in 2006 from
P94.4 billion to P93.7 billion with the expanded value-added tax law in placed. The latter is the original target for 2007 however it was adjusted in anticipation of the new sales tax.
Government alternative measures includes increasing the non-tax revenues if the taxes – for example excise taxes — fail to materialize as programmed by the National Government.
These non-tax revenues are fees and charges from dealings with the government or money extracted from anyone with transactions with the state, and income from the BTr.
DoF Secretary Margarito B. Teves said including taxes from administrative measures, the NG expects to collect
P44 billion additional revenues by the end of the year. These include the P15 billion from excise taxes and the P5 billion targeted collection if the expanded VAT is implemented by November 1.
As another quick-fix revenue measures, the DoF is also reviewing how it could raise dividends from government owned and controlled corporations.
Teves said the DoF will "exhaust all existing tax measures and raise the funds that we need before we come out and propose new taxes (because) this will take longer."
At the moment the government is reviewing fees and charges and how it could be raised besides collecting higher dividends from GOCCs.
The finance department said given the first eight months performance, the government is optimistic that it will meet its deficit target of
P180 billion. For the remaining months, the collecting bureaus are expected to collect their respective targets for the rest of the year.
Under its fiscal program, government has to reduce gradually its budget shortfall in order to attain a balanced budget by 2008. This program calls for an increase in tax collections and a more efficient use of government resources.
In August the DoF reported a budget surplus of
P1.75 billion reversing a P11.7 billion deficit the previous year.
For the first eight months of the year, the government posted a fiscal deficit of
P80.82 billion.
This is the third monthly budget surplus for the year, after April and June however shortfalls in tax collection remain a concern, especially from the BoC.
