The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) may fall short of its 2025 tax collection goal after corruption scandals involving flood control projects disrupted its performance.
Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Charlito Martin R. Mendoza confirmed that the BIR has been hit harder than the Bureau of Customs (BOC) by the issue, dragging down what had been a promising start to the year. Mendoza said the agency was on pace to meet its targets before the controversy slowed down collections.
“For the first half of the year, we were on track to meet the BIR’s collection target. Then there was a bit of a slowdown,” Mendoza said during the 4th SGV Tax Symposium on October 23.
From January to September, total government revenue reached ₱3.37 trillion, an 8.6 percent increase from ₱2.81 trillion in the same period last year. The BIR collected ₱2.32 trillion, up 10.9 percent from ₱2.09 trillion in 2024, covering 72.1 percent of its ₱3.22-trillion goal.
Corporate and personal income taxes, value-added tax (VAT), tobacco excise tax, and the percentage tax on financial institutions drove the BIR’s collections. Meanwhile, the BOC recorded ₱701.7 billion, up 1.6 percent from last year’s ₱690.7 billion, representing 73.2 percent of its ₱958.7-billion target.
Despite the growth, Mendoza admitted the government might miss its ₱4.21-trillion tax revenue target. However, the total ₱4.52-trillion goal could still be within reach through non-tax revenues. These, however, plunged 34.7 percent to ₱314.1 billion due to the absence of last year’s one-time remittances.
Mendoza said reforms are being rolled out to address the slowdown and restore confidence within the bureau. He remains hopeful that collection performance will recover by the last quarter.
The government aims for total revenues equivalent to 15.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, but for the BIR, the challenge is clear—regain credibility, clean up internal systems, and prove it can still deliver despite the corruption cloud hanging over it.
