No to new taxes, sell off state-owned assets to cover revenue shortfall: Dominguez

MANILA - The government will not impose new taxes nor will it sell off state-owned real estate assets to cover the revenue shortfall resulting from the coronavirus-induced lockdowns, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said on Monday. 

“Taxing our citizens when their incomes are down is not a good idea,” Dominguez said in a statement. 

Dominguez said the government will instead borrow money from commercial sources, even from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The Finance chief admitted that revenue collections as of September are down 12 percent compared to 2019, but added that the two main tax collection agencies both overshot their revised targets.

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The combined collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs from January to September was 8.26 percent higher than the target of P1.68 trillion set by economic managers, he said. 

Dominguez downplayed concerns that the government may crowd out private borrowers saying the BSP has already injected additional liquidity into the market by reducing the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) of banks from 18 percent to 12 percent. 
 
He also dismissed suggestions for a third COVID-19 relief package after the enactment of the Bayanihan 1 and 2 laws saying the economy is already poised to stage a strong comeback next year. 
 
"We are seeing a very strong recovery as we ease up the economy,” said Dominguez. 

The government is pushing a tax reform measure that aims to lower corporate income taxes and rationalize tax incentives. But the DOF said the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act is not meant to raise revenue collections.