Increasing Tax Collection

The DOF and BIR also introduced reforms to improve tax collection from self-employed individual taxpayers (SEITs). Of the estimated 1.8 million self-employed professionals registered with BIR in 2011, only 402,934 (22.4 percent) filed their income tax returns. A large number of these SEITs, including doctors, lawyers, accountants, and media professionals, paid under P60,000 in income tax in the period 2010–2012.

The BIR prioritized the audit of the tax returns of self-employed professionals and sole proprietorships with annual income tax of less than P200,000. Furthermore, through the Tax Watch, the Administration mounted campaigns to promote transparency and advocate for the correct declaration and payment of taxes through television commercials and newspaper advertisements.

Cases against tax evaders, smugglers, and erring government employees were also filed. The total number of cases filed against erring government officials under the Revenue Integrity Protection Services (RIPS), increased from only 5 cases in 2010 to 101 by June 2014. During the current administration, a total of 108 personalities have been charged, of which seventy-six (76) were charged at the Office of the Ombudsman, twenty-seven (27) at the Civil Service Commission, and five (5) were referred to the concerned agency for filing of charge.

Under Run After the Smugglers (RATS), a total of 170 cases by June 2014 have been filed against smugglers, with total tax dues amounting to P26 billion. This is a marked improvement from 2010, where only 18 cases have been filed. Under Run After Tax Evaders (RATE), total tax evasion cases filed have increased from only 23 cases in 2010 to 257 by June 2014, with total tax dues of P51.72 billion.