Makati Still ‘Richest City’

.MANILA, Philippines --- Makati City remains the richest local government unit (LGU) in the country after it posted a P9-billion revenue collection from January to September of this year. During this period, Makati City collected a total of P9.38 billion in revenue, which is 5 percent higher than its collection for the same period in 2011. "We are proud to note that Makati remains the country's richest local government unit in terms of income from local sources and on a per capita basis. It is also worth noting that our share from the Internal Revenue Allotment or IRA makes up a mere 5 percent of our total collections, down by 17 percent compared to September last year," Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay said. He noted that the bulk of the collection came from local sources, led by Business Tax that increased by 14 percent to P4.85 billion from P4.25 billion, followed by Real Property Tax with P3.26 billion, or 1 percent lower than P3.30 billion collected as of September 2011. Binay noted that the latest revenue hike can be partly attributed to the increased transparency and efficiency in the city government's systems and processes achieved through harnessing information technology. "We are evidently on the right track in this vital area of governance, as Makati recently passed the criteria for Silver Seal of Good Housekeeping by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and won the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Award at the regional level," Binay said. The DILG has set stringent requirements for the recognition, including compliance to the Full Disclosure Policy and having no adverse reports from the Commission on Audit, compliance with the Anti-Red Tape Act, a Comprehensive Development Plan, and above-benchmark performance in the Local Governance Performance Management System. The mayor said while larger cities in Metro Manila enjoy a bigger share of the IRA, Makati has consistently topped their locally-sourced income from business and realty taxes collected. As of end-2011, Makati had registered a total of 58,920 business enterprises, which are engaged in wholesale/retail, services, real estate, financial services, export/import, and manufacturing. Makati also boasts of having the highest number of BPO locators in the NCR at 1,159 companies to date, as well as the highest number of PEZA-accredited IT Parks and Buildings, 34. The city government of Makati has not increased its tax rates since its new Revenue Code took effect in 2006. For 26 years now, the city said it has enjoyed a deficit-free status. .