Best Practices in Fiscal Administration

Best Practices in Fiscal Administration. By Mendoza, salud Katrina d. – 2022433787 Poclis, nestor jr. B. – 2022437536.

[Audio] Governments exist to establish order and justice, promote the welfare and security of the citizens, and deliver the best possible outcome for each individual through the provision of basic services relating to education, health, housing and the like. The delivery of public goods and services, however, is not the only function of governments. Governments formulate and implement policies to ensure generation of revenues to fund expenditures of the national government agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, and even the local government units. And this is what fiscal administration is all about. In our report, we will be discussing definitions, basic concepts, principles in fiscal administration and provide examples of best practices in fiscal administration in the Philippines that have been documented..

[Audio] *What are the common terms that will be used in our discussion? Fiscal – refers to fiscal policies closely linked with other policy instruments of the government such as monetary, price and trade policy, investment and wage Fiscal Administration – generally refers to the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of the Policies and Decisions on taxation, revenue administration, resource allocation, budgeting, public expenditure, borrowing, debt management, accounting, auditing and ensuring compliance with the laws. *It is also defined as the act of managing incoming and outgoing monetary transactions and budgets for governments, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and other public service entities. Fiscal Policy – refers to the measures employed by governments to stabilize the economy, specifically by manipulating the levels and allocations of taxes and government expenditures. Fiscal measures Public - mean the whole government sector the National Government Agencies, Government owned and Controlled Corporations, Government Financial Institutions, and Local Government Units. It also mean, the people whom the government serve the beneficiaries, voters, taxpayers, youth, farmers, and the urban poor. Financial Control – are the procedures, policies, and means by which an organization monitors and controls the direction, allocation, and usage of its financial resources. Financial controls are at the very core of resource management and operational efficiency in any organization..

[Audio] These major areas are managed through: (a) study of budget cycle and its procedures; from the government unit, central budget office and congress to the president (b) budget as an instrument in securing certain objectives such as promotion of employment, economic growth with stability, welfare of the weaker sections, infrastructural development for promoting private instruments, etc.; (c)fiscal policy of the government in dealing with inflationary and deflationary situations, instability of the price level, promotion of full employment, growth of economy, welfare of the people, etc.; (d) control over finance, accounting and auditing; and (e) application and relationship of economic theory and principles with the practice of fiscal governance. The principal agencies tasked with fiscal functions: Congress, especially the Lower House, Department of Finance Department of Budget and management Commission on Audit Local Government Units.

[Audio] So, what can be considered as the best practices in Fiscal Administration? From what we gathered, there are four major considerations – 1. Strengthening economic development tax incentives: Tax incentives are one of the primary tool uses to try to strengthen economies. Lawmakers need good information to consider changing tax incentives. Example, the PEZA offer: Income tax holiday of three to six years. A preferential final tax of 5% of gross income in lieu of all national and local taxes and duty-free importation of capital equipment, spare parts, and accessories. A tax holiday is a governmental incentive that temporarily reduces or eliminates taxes for consumers or businesses. The objective of a tax holiday is to encourage economic activity and foster growth. 2. Building effective budget reserves: Whether policymakers want to cut taxes, provide high-quality infrastructure and services, pay down liabilities, or spur economic growth, wide swings or fluctuations in resources from year to year can undermine these goals. Savings strategies can mitigate the impact of economic ups and downs on the government's finances. Policymakers need to craft effective savings policies, ensuring reserves are available when they are needed most. 3. Ensuring that debt is affordable: While government officials borrow to fund national projects, for example, healthcare, housing, and infrastructure to spread the cost over generations and enable governments to finance multiple pressing needs simultaneously, governments often lack the data needed to make informed decisions about their debt. Alarmingly, it has been reported that, as of 2024, the National total domestic debt already reached Php10.02 Trillion. Policymakers need to understand how to manage long-term debt. 4. Evaluating municipal finances: State and local policymakers have a critical stake in strengthening cities' long-term fiscal well-being and generating opportunities for economic development. There is a need to study the fiscal landscape of cities, best practices for proactively assessing local governments' financial conditions, and policy options that can improve localities' fiscal outcomes..

[Audio] Gingoog, officially the City of Gingoog is a 1st class component city in the province of Misamis Oriental. Despite its urban appearance, Gingoog City has remained agricultural at its core. Coconut ranks highest among its agricultural products, followed by coffee, a distant second. A review of the City's General Land Use Plan shows that 39.1 percent of its total area is devoted to coconut production. The City produced an estimated 249,764,300 pesos worth of copra in 2004. Coffee, meanwhile, contributed 25.9 million pesos to the City's agricultural production. Rice and corn production, as well as fishing, constitute the rest of its major industries. In the light of its fiscal difficulties, it was in 1997 that several organizations came together to formulate a strategic plan for Gingoog. These were the Gingoog Bay Development Council, with assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency-Regional Development Council, the Philippines Canada- Local Government Support Program, Region X, and DAP sa Mindanao. The Strategic Plan outlined the programs, projects and activities that the City needed to undertake. Manualizing Strategies to Facilitate Revenue Collection - The objective of the Manual was to increase local revenue by 10 percent every year, starting in 1999, and gradually reduce the City's dependence on Internal Revenue Allotment. To carry out the revised Fiscal Management System, the Manual lent its support by operationalizing the objectives using quantifiable measures Fiscal Management System Reform Areas – 1. tax information campaign 2. collection scheme 3. deputization of Barangay Treasurers 4. monitoring schemes 5. remedies on tax delinquency 6. rewards and incentive schemes 7. remittance system, and 8. formulation of revenue-generating projects. Impact of FMS on Local Income In the course of operationalizing the tax initiatives of the Resource/Revenue Mobilization and Generation Project, the various divisions within the revenue collection system undertook a variety of activities in addition to their regular functions. The Business Tax Division, for example, seamlessly incorporated the activities of the updated Fiscal Management System into its operations with few adjustments. While the community outreach drive and tax mapping activities proceeded soon after the introduction of FMS in 1998, computerization did not begin until 2002. This, however, did not preclude the Business Tax Division from enjoying the benefits of the updated FMS. This Division exceeded its target collection by 10 percent in 2001 and by 18.3 percent in 2002. Because of these changes in revenue collection practices, Gingoog City has achieved its primary objective of increasing its income from local sources. According to records of the City Treasurer, business tax collections rose from 10.57 million pesos in 2000 to 14.3 million pesos in 2004. Meanwhile, Real Property Tax collections increased from 9.9 million pesos in 2000 to 13.3 million pesos in 2004. Moreover, the City has been enjoying a surplus since 2000, particularly in 2003 and 2004, when it posted 108 million pesos and 89 million pesos surplus, respectively. With such huge surpluses, the City now has more opportunities to pursue some of its development programs..

[Audio] In Fiscal administration, financial controls are being practiced to be able to safeguard the organization's assets avoid fraud, and still be in line with the laws and regulations. This practice also allows risk management and revenue management to be identified, and assessed to be able to identify, and manage probable risk concerning interest rate, liquidity risk, seeking new ways of funding and strategizing revenue volatility..

[Audio] Quezon City is the largest among the cities that comprise Metropolitan Manila, occupying one-fifth of its total land area. It also holds the biggest population, the largest concentration of national government offices and agencies, the major radio and television stations, information technology centers, and the premier universities in the country. Along with these establishments, over 440,000 real property taxpayers form Quezon City's huge tax base. For these vaunted assets, the City, through many years, had played "poor cousin" to its wealthier neighbors like Makati, Manila, Pasig, and Mandaluyong. In the past three years, however, it has emerged as the richest city in the country, with current assets of 6.4 billion pesos, cash deposits of 3.4 billion pesos, and gross income of 6.5 billion pesos in 2004. The Commission on Audit has cited it as the local government unit with the highest net income and the Galing Pook Foundation has recognized its Fiscal Management Program as one of Top Ten Outstanding Local Government Programs for effective revenue collection..

[Audio] Here are some of the Revenue-Raising Innovations done in Quezon City Tax Incentives to Prompt Real Property Tax (RPT) Payer Quezon City has 440,000 real property owners, making Real Property Tax a reliable source of income. In 2002, it decided to stimulate the tax revenue base through a 20 percent and 10 percent discount as an incentive for prompt payment by annual and quarterly payers, respectively. This scheme was implemented earlier in Manila and San Juan whereby prompt payment was encouraged before the start of the tax period which is December of the preceding year for annual payers, and the preceding month, for quarterly payers. Quezon City liberalized it further and made it more attractive for its property owners. For quarterly payers, a 10 percent incentive is given if RPT payment is made during the current quarter, i.e., end of March, June, September, and December. For those who have more cash and want bigger savings, a 20 percent incentive is awarded if the full RPT is paid between January 1 – March 31 of the current year. Under the above scheme, a property owner with a tax liability of, for example, Php 10,000, needs to pay only Php 8,000 if he paid on or before March 31 of the current year, earning him clear savings of Php 2,000. It makes good economic sense for individual taxpayers to avail of this incentive program. He not only earns a discount from his tax payment but he is also spared the hassle of making four trips to the City Hall to settle his dues. For the City, the taxes that it collects in advance can earn 6 percent interest when placed in the bank. There is money available to spend on development projects and basic services at the start of the year, even if theoretically it forfeits 14 percent of potential tax receipts from the grant of the prompt payment discount..

[Audio] Stricter Requirements for Various Permits To ensure that there is no evasion in the payment of RPT and the contractor's tax in certain cases, the City Engineer and the City Building officials have been directed to require contractors' proof of payment of Real Property Tax (RPT) and contractor's tax as pre-requisite for processing building, excavation, and occupancy permits. With this, contractors with principal offices in Q.C. are assessed business tax based on 100 percent of the gross receipts of work contracts executed with the City. Contractors with a principal office outside Q.C. are imposed taxes amounting to 70 percent of the gross receipts for building and excavation contracts in Q.C. This guarantees that 70 percent of the income derived from doing work in Q.C. accrues to the City, which is authorized under the Situs of Tax in the Local Government Code..

[Audio] Security of Non-Tax Revenue, Official Receipts, and Documents To minimize forgery of official documents, especially on payment orders and receipts, a memorandum order has authorized the City Treasurer to direct the Taxes and Fees Division not to accept payments unless it bears his original signature in fuchsia ink, with rubber stamp marking of his picture and name. Presumably, while highly personalistic, this practice could discourage would-be forgers from committing this criminal offense..

[Audio] That would be all for best practices in fiscal administration..

THANK YOU!. [image]. Open photo. MENDOZA, SALUD KATRINA D. 2022433787.