MANILA, Philippines — The share of tax revenue to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose to 14.47 percent in the first quarter, the highest first quarter tax effort ever recorded, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported yesterday. “Tax effort...rose by 1.03 percentage point, from 13.44 percent to 14.47 percent, the highest first quarter tax effort ever achieved,” the DOF said. According to the DOF, the higher tax effort last quarter was brought about by higher tax collections during the period, which grew by 18.2 percent to P567.1 billion from P479.9 billion a year ago. The agency attributed this to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and improved tax administration by the government’s tax collecting agencies. “Expenditure effort rose by 2.73 percentage points to 20 percent, the highest first quarter expenditure effort since 2003, thus boosting its contribution to GDP growth,” the DOF said.

Source: Philippine Star May 11, 2018 15:44 UTC