[ Manila Bulletin Online ] November 21, 2008
By JONAS REYES
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Revenues derived from duties and taxes in this free port this year are expected to breach the P5.3-billion record in 2007, as total collections at the end of the 3rd quarter this year has already reached P4.08 billion.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator and CEO Armand Arreza said the 3rd quarter figure is an increase of 6.41 percent over the P3.83-billion haul made in the same period last year.
With the 3rd quarter collection just short of P1.2 billion from last year’s total, the SBMA expects to exceed the 2007 figure of P5.3 billion, he said.
"By all indications, Subic is defying the odds," Arreza said. "While there is some slowdown in the global economy, we continue to make consistent growth in revenue, import, export, as well as investment and employment."
"The continued growth of these indicators brings about the rise in the taxes and duties collected in Subic," he said.
Data released by the SBMA showed that the Bureau of Customs reported a total cash collection of P2.97 billion from January to September of 2008, while the Bureau of Internal Revenue showed a P1.11 billion tally.
The BoC figure represented a 5.82 percent growth over its P2.81 billion cash collection in the 3rd quarter of 2007.
The Subic Customs office traditionally sources its earnings from importation duties and taxes on oil, motor vehicles, general merchandise and FedEx operations.
Arreza said despite the current economic crisis, imports by manufacturers and traders here had grown steadily in the last two years, from .62 billion in 2006 to .79 last year.
The BIR report, meanwhile, said its P1.11 billion collections represented an increase of 8.02 percent compared to the P1.02 billion accumulated in the first nine months last year.
The BIR office here collects income and profit taxes, value-added tax, percentage tax and other taxes paid for by employers and employees in the Subic Bay Freeport.
The revenue agency also reported that its collection peaked in the 2nd quarter when it recorded P423.4 million, with P210 million collected in April alone.
Arreza said revenues in Subic would further increase with the entry of more than 141 new investment projects approved by the SBMA in the last nine months.
