Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 21) — The government loses at least ₱500 billion every year to tax evasion, according to the head of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
“If isasama natin yung illicit trades, sa sigarilyo pa lang nasa halos ₱100 bilyon na yan. Wala pa yung leakage sa petroleum, yung hindi rehistrado at sa pagbebenta ng pekeng resibo. Siguro hindi bababa sa ₱500 bilyon kung susumahin mo,” BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumaguihe said.
[Translation: If we include illicit trades, we lose around ₱100 billion from cigarettes alone. This does not yet include leakage from petroleum, from unregistered products, and false receipts. It’s at least ₱500 billion if you sum it all up.]
Based on government data, half-a-trillion pesos would have been enough to build half-a-million classrooms, or hundreds more San Juanico bridges.
The bureau said it will now intensify its campaign against tax evaders to plug the tax leaks.
Earlier this month, the BIR filed 74 tax evasion complaints amounting to around ₱3.58 billion against several individuals and corporate taxpayers.
The BIR’s target collection for 2023 is at ₱2.599 trillion – a 13% increase from 2022’s ₱2.3 trillion.
CNN Philippines senior correspondent Lois Calderon and digital producer Faith Ragasa contributed to this report.
