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More people applied for tax exemptions in ‘04
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Posted on Jan 23 2005
Amid the delayed issuance of rebates, more people applied for tax exemptions in 2004, resulting in less government revenues for the fiscal year.
Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig said that personal and corporate income tax collection in FY 2004 only totaled $7.5 million, more than a 100 percent reduction from the FY 2003 collection of $16.5 million.
“That explains why our revenues went down by $1 million in FY 2004,” said Atalig.
Department of Finance data showed that general appropriation in FY 2003 totaled $214.2 million while in FY 2004, it totaled $213.8 million.
Fermin said, though, that other than NMTIT or the personal and corporate income tax, almost all collections in other areas went up.
“That’s the major thing that upsets us,” he said.
Atalig attributed the decreased NMTIT collection to “people claiming exemptions.”
In FY 2003, less people applied for tax exemptions. But last year, he said, more of them applied, “because of the lateness in the government giving out the refunds.”
Fermin also noted that tax penalties and interest collection went down from $1.3 million in FY 2003 to $301,000 in FY 2004.
“It’s because we imposed less tax and penalties in FY 2004,” he said.
Overall, Atalig said, “we did very well in collection revenues for the government.”
He noted that even the garment user fee collection went up by about $1 million in FY 2004.
The government generated $29.6 million from garment user fee in FY 2003. The figure increased to $30.1 million in FY 2004.
Meantime, Atalig’s office has reported that total general revenues for the first quarter of fiscal year 2005 was about 10 percent up at $47.3 million compared to the same period last year.
DoF data showed that from October to Dec. 31, 2004, it collected $39.9 million in taxes and $7.4 million in fees, services and other revenues.
During the same period for FY 2004, the government had collected $43.1 million—$37.5 million from taxes and $5.5 million from fees and other revenues.
The Finance official said that based on the trend, the government would realize some $20 million additional revenues in FY 2005.
The government is operating on a $213 million continuing resolution.
