Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 4) — Presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao on Friday pushed to generate more non-tax revenues under his term in a bid to lift more people from poverty.
In a forum held by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas,the boxer-turned-politician explained that the country should not just rely on tax revenues, with non-tax revenues accounting for only 6% of government’s annual income.
“Ang problema po dahil sa korapsyon, ang ating gobyerno nagrerely lang sa tax revenue income,” Pacquiao said. “Ang naiambag ng non-tax revenue income ay 6% lang sa income ng ating gobyerno taun-taon.”
[Translation: The problem is because of corruption, our government only relies on tax revenue income. Non-tax revenue income only contribute 6% of the government’s income yearly.]
The Budget Department defines non-tax revenues as fees collected by the government in exchange for services rendered, assets conveyed, and penalties imposed on the public.
Pacquiao noted that focusing on non-tax revenues can be a source of funding for government projects and to generate more jobs for Filipinos.
“Kaya naman po mag-focus tayo doon para ang tao hindi mahirapan (That’s why let’s focus on that area to ease the burden of the people),” he said.
“Ang magiging resulta po noon ay, trabaho ang maghahanap ng tao, hindi tao ang maghahanap ng trabaho (That will result in jobs finding people, instead of people finding jobs),” Pacquiao added.
The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, a think tank of the House of Representatives, said in its report last year that total non-tax revenues consistently grew from ₱215.4 billion in 2016 to ₱351.3 billion in 2020. Collections from these sources also increased by 13.5% despite the pandemic.
