More Revenue and Better Public Service
Since the 1990s, governance in the Philippines has been decentralized to the local level, but local economic development is uneven. A significant issue has been the tedious process in many localities to register businesses, which has slowed new job creation and contributed to a lack of business tax revenues to fund services. We worked closely with local chambers of commerce and government offices in 11 municipalities in Mindanao to greatly streamline the registration process. Since then, new business permits have risen by 75 percent, and entrepreneurs are making new hires. We also worked with officials in the same municipalities to raise awareness among business owners about the importance of paying taxes and how taxes are calculated and collected. We coordinated a comprehensive tax mapping and inspection effort to help ensure that business tax rates are reasonable and fair. Revenues from business taxes are now up by 300 percent. In Bongao, in Tawi Tawi, local leaders have updated tax rates, which they had not done for 10 years. In the municipality of Siay in Zamboanga Sibugay, administrators were able to collect taxes from business owners for the first time from newly registered retailers and wholesalers of dried fish. And in Tungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay, a unique mobile effort has brought business permitting to the different barangays (villages) to conduct inspection, assessment, and tax collection directly to business owners. Finally, to ensure these reforms are sustained, we provided training to local professionals and revenue collectors to improve their skills in tax assessment and issuance of business permits.