Makati City has achieved 56 percent of its full-year revenue target of P17.12 billion in just two months after its total collection reached P9.51 billion as of the end of February.
Mayor Abigail Binay said the city surpassed the total collection for the same period last year by 11 percent, according to a report of City Treasurer Jesusa Cuneta.
“I am elated that the city has attained more than half of its target revenue in just the first two months of the year. Also, we have again posted a two-digit increase in total collections, which is an unmistakable sign that investor confidence in Makati continues to grow stronger,” the mayor said.
Binay assured residents that her administration will ensure that Makati’s robust financial growth will translate to more innovative and responsive programs that will improve their lives, in line with her thrust of inclusive progress.
“Our beloved Makatizens can rest assured that they will continue to experience the optimum benefits of the city’s prosperity. We will sustain, and even enhance, the reforms and innovations we have made in our systems and processes that have earned the trust of our taxpayers and convinced more businesses to bring their investments to our city,” Binay said.
According to the treasurer’s report, collections from Business Tax increased by 14 percent and from Real Property Tax by 10 percent in the first two months of the year.
As of Feb. 28, revenue from Business Tax reached P4.8 billion or 49 percent of full-year target, while Realty Tax collection reached P4.06 billion or 85 percent of target.
Other local revenue sources include Fees and Charges with P359.3 million and Economic Enterprise, P24.3 million. From other sources, the city got P197.6 million in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), P13.6 million as share from Economic Zone (PEZA), P4 million from PAGCOR/PCSO, and P37.4 million from Interest Income.
Based on the records of the Business Permits Office, the number of new business registrants from January to March of this year increased, from 1,126 last year to 1,248. The combined capital investment of the new businesses reached over P17.28 billion.
There was also an increase in the number of business permit renewals in the first quarter, from 32,875 last year to 33,908 as of March this year, according to the BPO.
Makati today remains among a few local government units in the country that are not dependent on the IRA.
A year and a half into the first term of Mayor Abby, the city posted a two-digit increase in revenue collections in 2017, a first for the city in the last 12 years.
Makati also obtained its very first “Unqualified Opinion” – the highest audit rating given by the Commission on Audit (COA), on its 2017 financial statements. Its Accounting Department was named one of the Most Outstanding Accounting Offices by the Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines.
After several years, Makati reclaimed its title as the country’s richest local government unit (LGU) after its assets reached P196.57 billion and became the first LGU to breach the P100-billion mark, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government.