Southern Tagalog gets biggest NTA allocation

MANILA, Philippines — Southern Tagalog will receive more than P113 billion, the largest chunk, from the national tax allotment (NTA) for 2022 as the national government prepares to pass on many of its functions to local government units.

Based on the annex of Local Budget Memorandum (LBM) 82, Region IV-A will receive P113.2 billion, or roughly 12 percent, of the 2022 NTA worth P959.04 billion.

Broken down, municipalities in the region will obtain P32.68 billion, cities will get P29.22 billion, while provinces and barangays will take P26.85 billion and P24.43 billion, respectively.

Further, Central Luzon will secure P93.15 billion to make up the second highest share, followed by Western Visayas with P75.6 billion and Central Visayas with P67.89 billion. Metro Manila, for its part, will get P57.91 billion from the NTA for its regional use.

As stated in LBM 82 issued in June, municipalities will receive 34 percent of the NTA at P326.07 billion, followed by provinces and cities with allocations of P220.57 billion each. Barangays, on the other hand, will receive P191.8 billion from the budget program.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said NTA allocations were computed based on the 2015 census of population by province, city, municipality and barangay.

The DBM also took into consideration the 2001 master list of land area certified by the Land Management Bureau.

The NTA for 2022 will be sourced in large from the Bureau of Internal Revenue at P765.2 billion, while another P193.73 billion will be obtained from the Bureau of Customs, as well as P101.06 million from national agencies as certified by the Bureau of the Treasury.

The government will be increasing revenue allocation to local governments in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas case. In exchange, state agencies will pass on most of their functions on social services and public infrastructure to their local counterparts.

Aside from the NTA, some regions may get additional tax allotment through the enforcement of various fiscal measures. Tobacco planting regions, such as Ilocos, will take a part of excise tax imposed on Virginia, Burley and native tobacco.

Manufacturing powerhouses, particularly Southern Tagalog, will be paid with gross income taxes paid by economic zone locators in lieu of local and national taxes.