THE Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) slashed by 30 percent to P223.9 billion its total revenue-collection target for local government units (LGUs) this year as it admits business operations slowed down last year.
In reducing the target from the original medium-term program of P321.6 billion, the BLGF explained the performance of local businesses last year was the basis for assessments of most local taxes for 2021.
The BLGF also considered the impact of the economic and health crises on the revenue-generation capacities of LGUs. The bureau that coordinates with local treasurers also used the national government’s economic projections.
While the revised target was below the original goal for local revenue collection for the year, this was more than double the initial estimate of BLGF in October 2020 at P102.01 billion. The revised target for 2021 was also up by nearly 16 percent from the downgraded goal set by BLGF for 2020 at P193.04 billion.
However, the BLGF forecast that LGUs revenues this year would be 7-percent lower than the estimated full-year 2020 collections at P241.39 billion.
The bulk of the “initial” collection-performance target for this year is expected to come from cities at P165.2 billion, followed by provinces at P32.23 billion and municipalities at P26.47 billion.
About 44 percent of the local revenue target will be sourced from local business tax and other taxes (P97.75 billion), real property tax and special education fund (P76.03 billion), regulatory fees and user charges (P29.76 billion) and receipts from operations of local economic enterprise (P20.35 billion).
Taking the lion’s share or nearly half of LGU’s own-sourced revenues is the National Capital Region (NCR) at P102.07 billion. Next to NCR are Region IV-A and Region III, with P34.14 billion and P19.89 billion, respectively.
The BLGF had also cut its revenue target for local treasurers last year by 37 percent to P193.04 billion from the original programmed P307.08 billion.
As of the third quarter of 2020, LGUs had already collected P205.71 billion, exceeding the full-year goal by 6.56 percent. The BLGF attributed this feat to the easing of community guidelines, resumption of business operations, the extension of payment deadlines and adoption of online and alternative payment facilities, among others.
The BLGF has already issued the initial targets for provincial, city, and municipal treasurers through the 15 BLGF Regional Offices. It gave local treasurers until February 28 to request adjustments in revenue targets.
Requests for revenue target adjustments may be made as a result of new local legislation adjusting the rates of taxes, fees, and charges, closure of businesses, windfall collections from the previous year that cannot be collected anymore in the current year, reassessment of properties due to calamities, tax relief programs, among others, subject to validation by the BLGF.
The BLGF also vowed to update the performance commitments of local treasurers by the second half of the year.
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