THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) may miss its collection target if the government bans online gambling.
“In case online gambling ceases, there should be a (target) adjustment. Definitely, the target will not be achieved,” BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. told reporters on the sidelines of a Financial Times event on Tuesday.
The BIR collects a 5% franchising fee from gaming operators.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. failed to mention his plans for the industry during his State of the Nation Address (SONA), after his previous SONA had encouraged speculation of another gambling-industry ban.
In his 2024 address, Mr. Marcos had ordered the shutdown of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry, citing mounting social costs and crime.
Also putting the target at risk is the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act, he said, due to reductions in taxes collected from issuing and trading securities.
The law cut the stock transaction tax to 0.1% from 0.6% and reduced the documentary stamp tax on the original issuance of shares of stock to 0.75% from 1% of par value.
BIR collections rose 11.72% to P1.36 trillion in the first half, according to the Bureau of the Treasury. Its collection goal of P3.232 trillion this year remains unchanged.
He also said hitting collection targets in the second half will be a “challenge” but added that the 12% value-added tax on foreign digital service providers could provide a boost.
Mr. Lumagui said illicit tobacco manufacturers are using economic zones to dodge excise taxes.
“If it’s meant for export and not for local consumption, there’s no excise tax. It’s being manufactured here in the ecozones. That’s what they’re trying to show — that the license they’re getting is for exporting all these products,” Mr. Lumagui said.
“Sometimes, they go to great lengths to make it look like they’re exporting, but the products end up being returned,” he said, saying these practices deprive the government of revenue.
In the first half, excise tax collections increased 9.38% to P134.54 billion. Excise collections from tobacco products rose 34.16% to P58.97 billion during the period.
He pushed for the need to address such tax dodges via the digital track-and-trace system, which will affix Quick Response codes to tobacco products. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
