Tax revenue losses at P785.6 billion in 2020, P929.9 billion in 2021 –DOF

The Philippines saw hundreds of billions of pesos worth of tax revenue losses in two straight years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Duterte administration's revenue effort saw its highest level in two decades, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Friday.

In a statement citing estimates from its Domestic Finance Group (DFG), the DOF said tax revenue losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic were pegged at P785.6 billion in 2020 and P929.9 billion in 2021.

However, the Finance Department said the emerging revenue effort was at 15.6% over the five years since the Duterte administration took over in 2016 - the highest in over two decades.

Without the pandemic, the revenue effort of the Duterte administration from 2017 and 2021 would have reached an estimated 16.2%.

Revenue effort pertains to the share of tax revenues, non-tax revenues, and other revenues of government agencies to the gross domestic product (GDP),

Meanwhile, tax effort is the share of tax collections to the GDP.

The measures determine government effectiveness in collecting revenue to fund its priorities.

Comparing the Duterte administration revenue effort to other administrations, the DOF said the administration of then-President Joseph Estrada (1999 to 2000) recorded an average of 14.1%.

It fell to 14% under then-President Gloria Arroyo (2001 to 2010), before rising slightly to 14.3% under the late President Benigno Aquino III (2011-2016).

In terms of tax effort, the Duterte administration's emerging average is 14% from 2017 to 2021. 

According to the DOF, the government under President Rodrigo Duterte would have reached an even higher average tax effort of 14.8% without the pandemic.

The tax effort average under the Estrada administration was 12.7%, which fell to 12.1% under the Arroyo watch and went up to 12.7% during the Aquino III presidency. — DVM, GMA News