KOKO SEEKS BIGGER LGU SHARE IN TAX REVENUES

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, PDP Laban President, reiterated today his proposal for local government units to obtain a bigger share in taxes collected by the national government.

In remarks at the Monday Flag-Raising Ceremony of the Rizal Provincial Government, Pimentel urged local leaders headed by Governor Casimiro A. Ynares III, Vice Governor Frisco M. San Juan, and members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to support his proposed bill which he calls the "Bigger Pie, Bigger Slice Bill."

The bill seeks to amend Section 284 of the Local Government Code of 1991, and has two aspects.

The "bigger pie" refers to the tax base. The internal revenue allotment (IRA) of LGUs is based on sums corresponding to "national internal revenue taxes" collected by the BIR.

But the Constitution, Pimentel explained, provides that "Local government units shall have a just share, as determined by law, in the national taxes which shall be automatically released to them."

Pimentel wants to amend the phrase "national internal revenue taxes" into "national taxes," which he says refers to those taxes and other amounts collected by the national government at large, and not only by the BIR.

The "bigger slice", on the other hand, refers to the sharing between the national government and LGUs. The current sharing is 60% to 40%.

Pimentel says that with a "bigger pie," the sharing should be "hating kapatid," or 50-50, between the national government and LGUs.

In the case of Rizal province, Pimentel pointed out, if the "Bigger Pie, Bigger Slice Bill" is passed into law, that is, if the share of LGUs is based on the collection of all national taxes and the sharing between national and local is 50-50, then the "share in the national taxes" or SNT-no longer IRA-of Rizal would be P1.619 billion from the current P1.302 billion, or an increase of P317 million.

The benefits of the increased LGU share would extend all the way down to the barangays, he added.

Pimentel said LGUs such as Rizal now using the current IRA for the maximum benefit of their constituents could harness more resources for development if his proposed "Bigger Pie, Bigger Slice Bill" becomes law.