TAX CAMPAIGN. The Bureau of Internal Revenue kicks off its 2024 Tax Campaign at the Iloilo Convention Center in Iloilo City on Thursday (March 13, 2024). BIR 11 regional director Joseph Catapia said they will collect PHP19.6 billion in taxes from Panay, Guimaras taxpayers this 2024. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY –The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will collect PHP19.6 billion in taxes from Panay and Guimaras taxpayers this year.
“This year 2024, we are tasked to collect PHP19.6 billion or 23 percent higher than our actual collection for the year 2023. This is one of the highest growth rates for the past 10 years in the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The goal seems huge, but I remain confident that it is achievable,” BIR Region 11 director Joseph Catapia said during the 2024 tax campaign kick-off led by the Revenue District Office 74 at the Iloilo Convention Center on Thursday.
BIR Region 11 covers the provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras.
In his message, Catapia identified several factors, including the continuing robust economy in the region, the consistent increase in the value of real estate, and the increasing number of business registrants, that would ensure collection targets are met.
The aggregate PHP2 billion hike in the national tax allocation of local government units in the five provinces, higher budget and funding for government infrastructure projects under the “Build Better More (BBM)” program and the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program are expected to contribute in the tax collection.
He said that in the past five years, Region 11 performed well in tax collection with an increasing yearly collection, except in 2020 when the collection dropped compared with 2019.
“For the calendar year 2023, actual collection was PHP15.9 billion, exceeding actual collection in 2022 by PHP1.22 billion or 8.25 percent increase in collection. However, compared to the goal, our region fell short by PHP668 million or a deficit of a negative 4 percent,“ he added.
He said shared partnership among taxpayers, BIR, and tax practitioners as key for the collection to succeed.
“To be successful, all of us do our fair share of our sacred responsibility and duty in the tax collection process,” he added.
Catapia announced that BIR has gone digital and taxpayers can register their businesses and pay taxes from the comfort of their homes.
He said BIR has an online registration and update system (ORUS) that will provide online all registration-related transactions of taxpayers.
“We appeal to your responsibility and sense of patriotism for you to realize that paying your correct taxes is your sacred duty in making our beloved country a better place to live with, for our children, our children’s children, and the next generation to come,” he added.
During the launch program, BIR 11 awarded the Top 5 taxpayers in individual, non-individual, and national government agencies/local government unit (LGU) categories.
Awardees for the individual compliant taxpayers included Theodore Valderrama Sr., Romeo Go, Tommy Que, Samuel So Jr., and Theodore Valderrama Jr.
F. Gurrea Construction Inc., J.E. Tico Construction Co. Inc., Iloilo Supermart Inc., MCR Agri-Venture Corporation, and Visayan Vets Port Services Inc. received the award for non-individual taxpayers.
The top national government agencies/LGU category awardees included Western Visayas Medical Center, the Department of Education Division of Iloilo, the Iloilo City Government, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Health. (PNA)
