Makati City Mayor Abby Binay announced on Thursday, April 27, that the local government is on its way to full recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic as it hit 72 percent of its revenue target owing to an increase in tax and other revenue source collections during the first quarter of the year.
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay
“By all indications, Makati is well on its way to full recovery from the pandemic. Once again, we are seeing double-digit growth in our total revenue collection as brisk business in the city attracts more new investors while driving current businesses to expand,” Binay said.
As of the end of March, the Office of the City Treasurer (OCT) has collected a total of P12,925,503,905.76, which is 72 percent of the full-year revenue target of P17.84 billion. This is an 18 percent increase compared to collections in January to March in 2022.
Based on the report of City Treasurer Jesusa Cuneta, the city garnered a total of P7.07 billion (71 percent) out of the P9.90 billion target in business tax collections. This is a 33 percent increase compared to the P5.27 billion collected in March 2022.
Real property tax collections also increased by six percent with P4.84 billion, exceeding the 100 percent target for 2023.
The Makati OCT also recorded P441.53 million collections in fees and charges, P100.15 million from economic enterprises, P417.9 million in National Tax Allotment (NTA), P30.8 million as shares from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and P83.89 million from interest income.
According to the Business Permits Office (BPO), 1,343 new businesses were registered in the first quarter of the year while 34,436 businesses renewed their business permits.
“We are heartened by the remarkable results of reforms and innovations we have done to make our systems and processes more efficient, transparent, and sustainable. We thank the business community, property owners, and all Makatizens for supporting our initiatives and putting their trust in the city leadership,” Binay said.
She said the local government’s efforts in digitizing local governance and public services are bearing fruit with P28.92 million in business tax payments collected from the Makatizen Online Assessment and Payment Portal which was introduced and used at the height of the pandemic.
“With great optimism and confidence, we are forging ahead with Makati’s digital transformation. We believe it is indispensable to our successful transition to a veritable smart city – climate resilient, sustainable both economically and ecologically, and genuinely inclusive,” the mayor said.
Makati is one of the local governments in the country that are not dependent on the NTA.
With Binay at the helm since 2016, the local government has introduced reforms to improve business registration, promote transparency, and fight against fixers.
Her leadership has resulted in Makati receiving an “unmodified opinion” from the Commission on Audit on its annual financial statements for five consecutive years from fiscal years 2017 to 2021.