THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P2.95 billion in 2021 worth of back taxes from 523 companies which were shut down for tax violations, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement on Thursday.
The shuttered companies fell foul of the BIR’s Oplan Kandado crackdown, which targets establishments that do not comply with tax laws.
The 2021 total is nearly five times the 2020 collections. Two years ago, 209 establishments were shut down by Oplan Kandado.
BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay added that last year, the bureau collected an additional P122.40 million in registration penalties after inspecting over 120,000 establishments.
Mr. Dulay said that under the bureau’s Run After Tax Evaders program, 137 cases were filed before the Department of Justice involving P4.4 billion worth of tax liabilities, in 2021 while 17 cases were filed before the Court of Tax Appeals involving an estimated P1.4 billion worth of unpaid taxes.
The BIR had collected P3.91 billion in taxes from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) as of December 2021.
An Act Taxing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations, or Republic Act No. 11590, took effect on Oct. 9, 2021, which imposed new taxes, including a 5% tax on gross gaming revenue.
The DoF expects collections from POGOs to hit P76.2 billion by 2023.
Mr. Dulay added that the BIR has expanded its social media presence to boost awareness of tax laws and bureau circulars. The bureau logged 9.6 million views of its Facebook content, while its YouTube channel has 10,000 subscribers.
The BIR hopes to collect P2.4 trillion this year. In April, the BIR’s collection target is P256.89 billion. — Tobias Jared Tomas
