The Department of Finance (DOF) said it achieved a record-high non-tax revenue collection in 2024, surpassing the previous years’ and in excess of the target.
Non-tax revenue collections reached P555.30 billion as of end-November 2024, a 45.6-percent increase from the same period last year.
Emerging non-tax revenues for the full year 2024 are expected to reach P606.6 billion—the highest ever recorded.
This exceeds the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) target for the year by P407.6 billion (204.9 percent) and the 2023 level by 53.6 percent.
“We need to raise more funds to meet the growing needs of our people. On top of tax collections, the non-tax revenue sources help us marshal additional resources to equip the government in delivering more and better services in critical areas like healthcare, education, food security, social protection and national security,” Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.
The DOF said it maximized non-tax revenue collections through higher dividend contributions of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) by raising their remittance share from 50 percent to 75 percent of their earnings; more privatization of government assets; and a sweep of unused and excess funds of GOCCs as mandated by Congress.
Some P136.29 billion in dividends were remitted by 52 GOCCs to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) as of Dec. 9, 2024. This exceeds the P100-billion target for the year and was 35 percent higher than in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the DOF collected P4.44 billion from the Privatization Management Office’s (PMO) disposition efforts as of end-December 2024.
This was 129 percent higher than in the same period last year. The proceeds came from sales and receivables from litigated assets, income from leases, dividend income, and other sources.
One of the notable sales includes the Philippine government’s shares of the NLEX Corp., which amounted to P2.9 billion. With the successful awarding of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Solicited Proposal for the Rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the government received a P30-billion upfront payment from SMC-SAP & Company Consortium upon signing the concession agreement.
The government is expected to generate roughly P900 billion in revenues from the deal over the entire term, which is a 15-year concession period, extendable by another 10 years.
More privatization of public assets is underway with the approval of the guidelines on the Privatization and Disposition of Government Assets by the Privatization Council (PrC) in September.
Chaired by the DOF, the PrC is the policy-making body mandated to oversee the Philippine Government’s privatization program.
The new guidelines seek to institutionalize the policies and decisions of the PrC over the years to guide both the public and private sectors in ensuring the process, rules, and regulations are clear and transparent.
