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By Chino S. Leyco Reporter
Raising taxes while channeling
resources toward high-quality spending can help the government
sustain growth and reduce poverty, the Philippines Development
Forum’s working group said.
Government and members of the
international development partners’ community said an additional
1.5 percent of gross domestic products (GDP) in tax revenues is
required for the government to meet its priority spending goals, in
line with the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.
The government has long been
aiming for a balanced budget, or an equality of government revenue
and its expenditures. The fast-tracking of the country’s
development programs have occasioned more loans (See related story
page A2), that the government wants to check by raising more taxes
instead.
“This can be achieved by prioritizing
legislative measures for revenue enhancement and accelerating the
implementation of the ongoing tax administration reform program,”
the group said.
Last year, the tax-collection
efficiency rate of the government further declined as the Department
of Finance is aiming to regain its upward momentum this year
following the decline.
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves
said the tax effort dropped to 14 percent from 14.3 percent a year
ago. The decline equals around P922-billion revenue collections of
the Bureaus of Internal Revenue and of Customs.
“Our goal now is to return to
an upward trajectory and achieve a 16-percent tax effort or close to
pre-crisis levels by 2010,” Teves said.
Higher tax effort figure will
help the state to attain a balanced budget this year and more
funding for government spending for infrastructure and social
services for the poor.
The National Statistical
Coordination Board (NSCB) said the poverty situation in the country
has been worsening.
Poverty incidence grew 26.9
percent for families in 2006, compared to 24.4 percent in 2003, said
Romulo Virola, statistical board director. The latest figure is
lower than the 27.5-percent poverty rate in 2000.
Government data showed that the
total population in 2006 rose to 86.9 million, from 81 million in
2003.
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