CTRP to ensure revenues for PH modernization
THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DOF) has underscored the need to complete the passage of the remaining packages of the Duterte administrations comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) to ensure a reliable revenue base that will help support the modernization of the Philippine economy and ensure the equitable sharing of funds for the governments social and infrastructure programs, while securing fiscal stability long into the future.
Finance Undersecretary and DOF chief economist Gil Beltran said that for 2020, revenue collections are projected to reach P3.5 trillion of which P187.1 billion will come from tax reform.
These include P153.8 billion from the first CTRP package or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law; P15.7 billion from Republic Act No. 11346, which raised excise taxes on tobacco products; and an estimated P20 billion to be collected from Package 2 Plus, which aims to increase excise taxes on alcohol and e-cigarette products.
Package 2 Plus was already approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading on Aug. 20.
Expenditures for 2020 are expected to reach P4.2 trillion or 19.8 percent of GDP, which translates into a deficit target of P677.6 billion or 3.2 percent of GDP that is well within the norm for deficit spending, Beltran said at a briefing by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for senators on Thursday morning.
The executive branch will continue to be engaged with the legislature in passing the remaining tax reform
packages that will generate additional revenue streams for government to fund social amelioration programs, said Beltran who represented Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III at the briefing. Beltran likewise pointed out that the passage and implementation of the remaining tax packages and the rest of the fiscal reform agenda will help bring the country to A rating territory within the next couple of years.