The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. surpassed revenue targets and led the implementation of important grants and technical assistance in 2022.

In its yearend report, the Department of Finance (DOF) said emerging revenue collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have reached P3.2 trillion, surpassing the full-year 2022 Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) target by 2.2 percent.

The finance department also facilitated the implementation of grants and technical assistance amounting to an estimated $85.5 million.

Other DOF accomplishments for this year include the resolution on tax incentives for business activities outside zone limits, commitment to Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (EITI) and the revision of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.

The Philippine Economic Briefings and Meetings with credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's, and Fitch and Moody’s, where the economic team showcased the country’s bright economic prospects, were also a feat for the DOF.

This is in addition to the DOF’s hosting of the 55th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

For next year, the agency’s major activities include rightsizing the DOF bureaucracy, as it works toward streamlining its organization and processes to maximize efficiency and use of public funds.

The DOF also eyes to continue pushing key measures, including Package 3 and 4, Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics, Value Added Tax on Digital Service Providers, Ease of Paying Taxes and Mining Fiscal Regime.

It will also target private sector fund mobilization through public-private partnership (PPP) projects and will launch pioneering projects with Project Management Office (PMO)-led assets such as Basay Mining Rights, Tala Estate Property and Food Terminal Inc. Property.

Tax administration reforms will be implemented to enhance tax efforts, maximize the government’s revenue potential, simplify taxpayer compliance and automate the BIR and BOC processes.

The national government is expected to secure next year around $19.1 billion worth of official development assistance (ODA), $9.2 billion worth of loans from multilateral development partners and $9.8 billion in loans from bilateral lenders. Presidential News Desk