BIR eyes P3.23T goal via tax compliance, online sellers, pending laws

After surpassing its collection target for the first time in 20 years in 2024, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) aims to collect P3.23 trillion in tax revenues this year. 

The agency is banking on stricter tax compliance enforcement, the inclusion of online sellers in the withholding tax system, and the passage of key tax measures to achieve the government’s record-high revenue goal for 2025.

“We see that when taxpayers are compliant and well-informed, reaching our target becomes easier,” BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said during a tax compliance verification drive in Quezon City on Tuesday.

To encourage voluntary compliance, the BIR launched its “Friendly Tax Compliance Verification Drive” (TCVD) from February 10 to 14, 2025. 

This nationwide initiative aims to educate businesses on their tax obligations, identify common compliance issues, and guide them in making necessary corrections.

Lumagui emphasized that the TCVD was purely educational and "no penalties will be imposed."
 
Online transactions

The BIR is also focusing on online sellers, whose compliance with Revenue Regulation No. 16-2023 has so far been positive. 

Lumagui noted that withholding tax collections from online transactions could reach billions.

Under the regulation, effective July 15, 2024, e-marketplace operators and digital financial service providers must withhold 1% of half the gross remittances made to sellers using their platforms. 

However, the tax will not be imposed if:

• the seller’s annual total gross remittances in the previous year did not exceed P500,000, or
• the seller’s cumulative gross remittances for the current year have not yet reached P500,000.

The BIR will assess total collections from online sellers after the April 15 income tax filing deadline.

“Diyan natin makikita kung ano ang magiging ultimate compliance ng mga online sellers,” Lumagui said.

(That’s when we’ll see the full extent of online sellers’ compliance.)

The BIR is also counting on the passage of proposed tax laws, particularly those imposing levies on single-use plastics and reforming the fiscal regime for the mining industry.

"Kasi nung sinet ‘yung P3.23 trillion [target] na ‘yan, in-assume din na mapapasa itong mga batas na ito,” Lumagui noted.

(When the P3.23 trillion target was set, it assumed these laws would be passed.) — DVM, GMA Integrated News