IRA Design Issues and Challenges

The internal revenue allotment or IRA is one type of central government transfers to local government units (LGUs) meant to help in correcting for the imbalance in the revenue-raising capacities and expenditure needs of various LGUs. However, there are issues in the design of the IRA in the Philippines that need to be addressed if it is to serve as an effective instrument in solving said imbalance. This Policy Notes looks into these in detail.local government unit, internal revenue allotment

Will Shift to Gross Income Taxation Help Generate More Revenues?

In an effort to help improve the revenue performance of the national government, especially in the face of the country's current fiscal deficit situation, a number of proposals have been forwarded aimed at having a positive impact on revenues. One of these is the proposal to shift the present system of taxation to gross income taxation. Will a shift towards such system help generate more revenues for the national government?fiscal deficit, fiscal sustainability, arrearages, zero coupon bonds, securitization

Doing It Right for Tax Administration Reform: (Semi-) Autonomous Revenue Authority Anyone?

Amid the calls for the restructuring--and even possible replacement--of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to effect radical improvements in tax administration in the Philippines, will the creation of a semi-autonomous revenue authority to replace the BIR, as proposed in House Bills 5054, 5465 and their substitute bill, help improve the tax collection in the country and arrest the decline in its tax effort? What has been the experience in countries where such a body was created? What can be learned from their experiences? This Policy Notes expounds on this matter and offers helpful suggestions in the deliberation of the concerned pending bills.tax effort, semi-autonomous revenue authority

Fiscal Reform Agenda: Getting Ready for the Bumpy Ride Ahead

Given the present crisis proportion of the Philippines' fiscal position, this Policy Notes outlines the major areas of reform that need to be acted upon immediately if the country is to overcome this problem. The suggested reforms focus on tax policy and tax administration on the revenue side; public expenditure management measures on the expenditure side; and specific GOCC reforms. See more...fiscal deficit, tax effort, public expenditure management, GOCC reform, consolidated public sector

Survey and Review of Forecasting Models in Internal Government Revenues

The purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate the existing works on tax revenue forecasting in the Philippines. The review is intended to provide insights on the particular problems involved in the formulation and estimation of a revenue-forecasting model and thus, set the stage for the development of such a model.government revenue, econometric modeling

Explaining the Decline in Tax Effort

With the continuing deterioration of the Philippine government's fiscal position in the past few years, it is important to arrest the undeterred contraction of the government's revenue effort. This Notes analyzes the sources of the decline in the country's tax effort and offers recommendations on where and what to focus to be able to address this urgent problem.tax effort, fiscal incentives, Comprehensive Tax Reform Package

Basic Education: Improving Quality and Quantity

Access to basic education has greatly broadened in the past two decades as enrolment growth in both the elementary and secondary school systems outpaced that of population. However, while access widened, the quality of basic education has deteriorated and continues to do so. The clamor to improve the quality of basic education and meet the ever-growing demand for more places in the basic education system, within a government budget constraint that is already stretched to the limit, has thus become even more pronounced. This Notes thus looks more closely into the issue of education finance and management in the basic education sector as it attempts to answer the more important question of "not how much money there is but how it is spent."education

A Review of Fiscal Incentives for Exports in the Philippines

Stimulated by the success of the East Asian dragons, commitment on the design and administration of export promotion policies have been renewed. Against the backdrop of protection structure, the first-best solution to the problem is the complete overhaul of the protection structure. In the event of its failure, second-best policy package is offered in this article.trade sector, export commodities, export incentives

The Size, Financing and Impact of the Public Sector Deficit, 1975-198

The manner by which the government has chosen to finance the fiscal deficit in the given period and the economic consequences of financing of government expenditures are discussed in this paper. It documents the size of the government deficit from 1975-1984 through the presentation of a consistent series of consolidated public sector. It also analyzes the implications of the fiscal deficit on public debt, interest rate, capital formation, money creation and inflation.public policy, public debt, public sector, fiscal sector

Indirect Tax Reform in the Philippines: A Complementary Measure to the Tariff Reform Program, 1979-1985

This study analyzes the effect of the interaction between domestic indirect taxes and tariff system to the market of particular goods. Computation of effective protection rates is provided and the implications of alternative indirect tax schemes are examined.tariff, tax structure, effective protection rate, taxation