EXCISE TAX collections exceeded the target for the first seven months, driven by tobacco products, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said.
Excise tax collections amounted to P193.65 billion during the period, beating the target by 2.19%, the BIR said.
The seven-month total was also 15.10% higher than the year-earlier tally.
Collections at the end of July were equivalent to 56% of the full-year excise tax target of P343.10 billion.
Excise taxes are imposed on the production, sale or consumption of commodities such as tobacco, alcohol, and non-essential goods.
Tobacco products accounted for P94.46 billion of the excise tax haul, exceeding the target by 14.89%.
Year on year, tobacco tax collections were up 32.12%.
Taxes generated by alcohol products hit P66.58 billion during the period, missing the target by 7.25% but exceeding the year-earlier tally by 4.12%.
Miscellaneous excise taxes — covering automobiles, sweetened beverages, cosmetic procedures, and other non-essential goods — were also below target at P25.03 billion, missing the goal by 11.62% and 4.99% lower than the year-earlier total.
Excise taxes on sweetened beverages (P21.59 billion) and automobiles (P3.26 billion) were also short of their targets.
Taxes generated by non-essential goods (P165.58 million) and cosmetic procedures (P11.30 million) both beat targets.
Excise tax collections generated by mining and mineral products amounted to P7.49 billion at the end of July, beating the target by 4.37%. They were up 17.58% from a year earlier.
Petroleum excise tax collections totaled P94.74 million, up 10.77% from a year earlier.
Overall, excise taxes accounted for 10.25% of the BIR revenue of P1.89 trillion at the end of July.
Overall collections were 1.25% under the target for the seven months but 12.34% higher year on year.
Growth in overall revenue had been driven by corporate income tax, value-added tax, and personal income tax.
The seven-month total represents 58.68% of the BIR’s P3.22-trillion full-year goal. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
