Makati City bares 114.17-B revenue collection as of August

The local government of Makati City has already collected a total of 114.17 billion revenue as of August this year, which is already 90.4 percent of its collection target for the year.

Mayor Abigail Binay revealed this Tuesday, expressing optimism that the local government's collection will exceed the 115.67 billion target revenue “by a significant margin.”

“We are still in the third quarter and yet, we have already attained 90 percent of our full-year revenue target. I am pretty sure we can collect much more than the 11.5 billion remaining balance by yearend,” she said.

According to Binay, some 3,378 new business registrants were recorded by the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) from January to September 10 this year.

She also noted a significant increase in the number of permit renewals with 33,729 posted as of September 10, which topped by more than 900 last year’s total of 32,790 renewals.

“We are very thankful to our new investors for choosing to locate in Makati. We welcome the opportunity you have given us to help your business thrive, knowing that the people of Makati – our beloved Makatizens – stand to benefit directly from your prosperity,” she expressed.

The mayor said that with more income earned from tax collections, the city government can continue to invest in highly beneficial and responsive programs on public health, education, and social welfare.

“By making quality public services freely accessible to everyone, we are turning the oft-repeated phrase ‘inclusive growth’ into a reality,” she said.

Based on the report of Acting City Treasurer Jesusa Cuneta, a 7-percent increase was recorded in total revenues for eight months, January to August, than with the revenue collection for the same period last year.

In the same period, the city collected almost 17.5 billion in business tax, which is 10 percent higher than last year. From real property tax, earnings reached almost 14.8 billion, or an increase of two percent over last year.

Other local revenue sources in the report included Fees and Charges, 1633.3 million, and Economic Enterprise, 1170.8 million. From other sources, the city collected 1178.3 million in Interest Income; 1758.7 million in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA); 1185.5 million in Share from Economic Zone (PEZA); and almost 13.5 million in share from Pagcor/PCSO.

Makati City is among a few local government units in the country that are not dependent on the IRA.

Notably, Makati earned the firstever “unqualified audit opinion” of the Commission on Audit (COA) in the latter’s audit report for calendar year 2017. It meant that the financial statements of the city government conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and that they fairly represent the city’s financial accounts.

Also in 2017, the city posted, for the first time in 12 years, a two-digit increase in revenue collections.