DoF: Train revenues beat 2018 target
Credit to Author: JORDEENE B. LAGARE| Date: Thu, 09 May 2019 16:20:24 +0000
THE Department of Finance (DoF) reported on Thursday that revenues generated from tax reforms surpassed its target by 8.1 percent in 2018.
In a statement, the Finance department said revenues from the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Act reached P68.4 billion last year, higher than its P63.3-billion full-year goal, citing a report from its Strategy, Economics and Results Group (SERG), led by Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua.
“The SERG report explained that the largest gains were seen in tobacco excise, auto excise and documentary stamp tax collections. PIT collections were also higher than expected, due to better compliance and an increase in the number of registered taxpayers,” it added.
“Taken together, these highest gainers contributed around P51.5 billion of the P68.4 billion of additional revenue from Train.”
Implemented in January 2018, Train, formally known as Republic Act 10963, raised excise taxes on select items, including fuel and cars, in exchange for lower personal income tax rates. It is the first package of the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.
Auto excise taxes exceeded their target by P6.2 billion, partially because of higher purchasing power for vehicles. Documentary taxes superseded theirs by P4.7 billion due to “higher transactions value and better collection efficiency.”
“Accounting for VAT from additional spending, estimated at P24.6 billion, which was due to additional take-home pay as a result of lower personal income taxes, Train revenue has far exceeded its target, providing additional public resources for infrastructure and human capital development programs,” the DoF said.
Taxpayers took home P111.7 billion in personal income-tax reductions last year after Train was implemented.
Under this law, those with taxable income of P250,000 and below are exempted from paying such taxes.
Previously, the Finance department projected that Train’s implementation delivered a combined P12 billion a month in additional income to the country’s individual taxpayers, most of them compensation earners, and in unconditional cash transfers to the poorest households and senior pensioners.
“[T]he notable increase in retail sales — in malls, restaurants and other dining places — after the law took effect in January 2018 indicates the higher purchasing power of consumers, as Train put more money into the pockets of 99 percent of Filipino income taxpayers,” Finance Assistant Secretary Joselito Lambino 2nd said.
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