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HeadlinesStatistically Speaking by Dr. Romulo A. Virola1

THE TAX COLLECTORS, THE TAXPAYERS, THE TAX EVADERS?

A balanced budget was targeted initially by government for 2010, then advanced to 20082 when things got rosier than expected; but recently3, Pres. Arroyo was quoted to have hinted that government was unlikely to meet the goal this year.  In 2006, the Philippines received commendations from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for fiscal management, with FitchRatings upgrading its outlook on the country’s foreign currency and local currency ratings from negative to stable. At present, the rice price crisis and the unrelenting surge in oil prices pose big threats to the sustainability of past gains. What does the future hold for us? The efficiency and effectiveness of tax collection, the honesty and sense of responsibility of the taxpayers and the social conscience  of tax evaders will surely all be a factor.

According to Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Lilian B. Hefti, BIR revenues increased 12.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008 from P143.1 billion last year to P163 billion, higher than the bureau’s goal of P160 billion. But the Bureau of Customs does not seem to be doing well in contributing towards the targeted  balanced budget.4      

1Are our tax collectors lacking in efficiency and effectiveness? Or are our taxpayers too smart for our tax collectors? Or are they conspiring to cheat the government?

Detailed tax data are not easy to get. But the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) produces information that can be examined. Let us look at some of these statistics.

The Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) asks questions on taxes paid by the FIES respondents. The tax data captured by the FIES include income tax paid by all members of the family, real estate tax, car registration, toll and driver’s license fees and other direct taxes. Of course, it also collects information on total family income. For this article, we will look at the 2000 and 2003 FIES only since the 2006 FIES Public Use Files containing the tax information have not been released by the NSO. We will also use the October round of the 2003 Labor Force Survey (LFS) of the NSO and  tax data from the BIR as reported in the NSCB publication, The Philippine Countryside in Figures (CIF)5.

So, who are our largest tax collectors/taxpayers?

  1. 1In terms of total taxes paid by households as collected by the FIES, the top three regions, consistently for 2000 and 2003 are NCR, Region IV-A and Region III, with the next two slots going to Regions VI and VII. This is practically the same ranking as that for regional shares of the total Philippine GDP (Table 1.1 and 1.2);

  2. The four highest tax-paying provinces6 in 2003 were Cavite, Cebu, Laguna and Rizal, the same top payers in 2000 but in a different permutation. Fifth position was Pampanga in 2003 and Iloilo in 2000 (Table 2); .

  3. By industry group of employment of the household head, the services  sector contributes almost 70 % of taxes collected while  the agriculture, fishery and forestry  (AFF) sector contributes less than 10%.  It is noted that  the share to total taxes paid by households whose heads are employed in  services is  higher than the  share of services to total  GDP. In fact, the ratio of taxes to GDP is highest for Services, followed by Industry and AFF. Could  this be  a case of industry being undertaxed while the Services sector is overtaxed or not as undertaxed? Or a case of workers in industry not paying as much tax as those working in services? (Table 3);

  4. By major occupation of the household head, the October 2003 LFS shows that the biggest group of 1workers comes from laborers and unskilled workers; followed by farmers, forestry workers and fishermen; and third, is the group  of officials of government and special interest organizations, corporate executives, managers, managing proprietors and supervisors7. But the largest share of taxes paid by households comes from officials of government and special interest organizations, corporate executives, etc. with a 31.0% and 27.2% share in 2000 and 2003, respectively. The professionals comprise the second biggest source of taxes, followed by plant and machine operators and assemblers who actually form only the 7th and 6th largest group of workers, respectively in 2003 (Table 4).

And who are our smallest sources of taxes among the regions and provinces?

  1. The 6 regions with the lowest share of taxes collected/paid in 2003 were ARMM, CAR, Caraga, Region IV-B, Region XII and Region IX, also the regions with the lowest shares in 2000 but in a different order (Table 1.1 and 1.2 ).

  2. Among the provinces6, those with the lowest shares of taxes in 2003 were Siquijor, Apayao, Guimaras, Tawi-Tawi and Kalinga. In 2000, the list included Batanes, Siquijor, Camiguin, Marinduque and Apayao (Table 2).

And the possible tax evaders?

  1. 1Overall, the Philippines had a tax-income ratio of only 1.8% in 2003, which seems very small, an indication that we as a people possibly do not pay enough taxes. Among the regions, the lowest tax-income ratio in 2003 came from ARMM, Region XI, and Region XII. The five provinces with the lowest tax-income ratio are Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Sarangani, Davao Oriental and Sulu (Tables 5 and 6 ) .

  2. The FIES shows that no group of workers pays more than 5% tax with the tax-income ratio ranging from an understandable 0.7% among farmers, forestry workers and fishermen to 4.3% among professionals. Officials of government and special interest organiza1tions, corporate executives, etc. pay taxes equivalent to 2.5% of their total income (Table 7 ). But isn’t the 4.3% tax paid by professionals too low? In fact, in Region XII, the professionals paid only 1.8% tax, even lower than the rate paid by clerks, technicians and associate professionals and the group of service workers, shop and market sales workers. Are they too shy about the taxes they say they pay or are they overestimating their income, maybe? Hmm!

  3. By industry classification of employment of household heads, the tax-income ratio for 2003 was 0.7% for agriculture, fishery and forestry; 2.2% for both industry and services. Similar figures were true for 2000. This is consistent with the observation made that workers in industry may be undertaxed or may be underpaying taxes compared to those in services (Table 8).

It is noteworthy that the FIES tax data as collected by the NSO enumerators from household respondents are generally in agreement with tax data as reported by the BIR and published in the CIF of the NSCB. For instance, BIR revenue collections are highest in NCR, Region IV-A and Region III, in that order for each year from 2003 to 2006, the same three regions listed by the FIES. The regions with the lowest shares are ARMM, Region IV-B and Caraga. Among the provinces, in 2003 the top 5 taxpayers in the BIR list are  Laguna, Cebu, Cavite, Quezon and Davao del Sur while the bottom 5 are Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Nueva Vizcaya, Marinduque and Ifugao (Table 9.1 and 9.2).

Having examined taxes paid by households, it would be interesting to look at tax data paid by establishments. But these data seem to be confidentially kept by the BIR. Talking about free access to information, does not the public deserve to know this too? And shouldn’t civil society be also  interested to know who among  us are not paying the taxes we owe government? But civil society does not seem to care? Makes one wonder why!

One reason why countries strive to develop a knowledge-based economy is that knowledge-oriented citizens are among others, law-abiding and good taxpayers. Towards better tax collection then, more honest taxpayers and less tax evasion, how about a knowledge-based Philippine society? Nice, don’t you agree?

I hope you were all nice to your mothers yesterday! And yes, especially to your  mothers-in-law!

Reactions and views are welcome thru email to the author at ra.virola@nscb.gov.ph

 

_______________
1 Secretary General of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) and Chairman of the Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC). He holds a Ph. D. in Statistics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, U.S.A. and has taught mathematics and statistics at the University of the Philippines. He is also a past president of the Philippine Statistical Association. The author thanks  Mildred B. Addawe, Bernadette B. Balamban, Noel S. Nepomuceno, Jessamyn O. Encarnacion and  Simonette A. Nisperos for the assistance in the preparation of the article.

2 Finance Secretary Margarito Teves was quoted to have said that the government should end 2008 with a balanced budget. See http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080424-132424/Govt-sees-balanced-budget-in…

3 http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/riceproblem/view.php?db=1&article=20080429-133375

4 http://www.manilatimes.net/2008/apr/11/yehey/business/20080411bus5.html

5 The Philippine Countryside in Figures, 2006 Edition, pp.54-56, NSCB.

6 Excluding the four districts of the National Capital Region (NCR).

7 Occupational classifications are based on the 1992 Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC) published by the NSCB which is based on the 1988 International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO).

 

Posted 12 May 2008.

 

Table 1.1. Distribution of Total Taxes, Employment and GDP by Region: 2000 and 2003

Region Total Taxa Employed Persons GDP
2000 2003 2000 2003 2000 2003
Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Levels (in thousands) Percent distribution Levels (in thousands) Percent distribution Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution
Philippines 38,636 100.0 43,475 100.0 27,775 100.0 31,553 100.0 3,354,727 100.0 4,316,402 100.0
NCR 17,079 44.2 17,921 41.2 3,542 12.8 4,077 12.9 1,179,471 35.2 1,556,808 36.1
Region I 883 2.3 1,274 2.9 1,522 5.5 1,647 5.2 103,376 3.1 125,578 2.9
Region II 835 2.2 863 2.0 1,101 4.0 1,283 4.1 73,830 2.2 79,931 1.9
Region III 2,464 6.4 3,480 8.0 2,731 9.8 3,124 9.9 263,944 7.9 347,426 8.0
Region IVAb 7,645 19.8 7,729 17.8 4086 14.7 3,684 11.7 469,477 14.0 518,131 12.0
Region IVBb 499 1.3 631 1.5 939 3.0 91,755 2.1
Region V 1,089 2.8 1,537 3.5 1,737 6.3 1,913 6.1 86,430 2.6 109,805 2.5
Region VI 1,702 4.4 1,593 3.7 2,320 8.4 2,711 8.6 218,779 6.5 281,441 6.5
Region VII 1,352 3.5 2,669 6.1 2,049 7.4 2,223 7.0 236,043 7.0 296,491 6.9
Region VIII 893 2.3 1,146 2.6 1,379 5.0 1,613 5.1 81,003 2.4 99,350 2.3
Region IX 668 1.7 844 1.9 1,067 3.8 1,198 3.8 78,196 2.3 96,772 2.2
Region X 860 2.2 1,077 2.5 1,218 4.4 1,686 5.3 124,525 3.7 197,102 4.6
Region XI 851 2.2 852 2.0 1,989 7.2 1,586 5.0 195,198 5.8 187,341 4.3
Region XII 690 1.8 745 1.7 958 3.4 1,409 4.5 84,720 2.5 139,167 3.2
CAR 490 1.3 447 1.0 517 1.9 600 1.9 79,541 2.4 97,668 2.3
ARMM 226 0.6 196 0.5 723 2.6 929 2.9 31,285 0.9 36,898 0.9
Caraga 408 1.1 473 1.1 837 3.0 931 3.0 48,907 1.5 54,738 1.3

Sources of basic data: 2000 and 2003 Family Income and Expenditures Survey, NSO October 2000 and 2003 Labor Force Survey, NSO a 2000 and 2003 FIES data on total taxes paid by households b Employment and GDP estimates for 2000 covers the entire Region IV

Table 1.2. Regional Ranking of Share of Total Taxes, Employment and GDP by Region:
2000 and 2003

Region Total Taxa Employed Persons GDP
2000 2003 2000 2003 2000 2003
Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Rank Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Rank Levels (in thousands) Percent distribution Rank Levels (in thousands) Percent distribution Rank Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Rank Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Rank
Philippines 38,636 100.0   43,475 100.0   27,775 100.0   31,553 100.0   3,354,727 100.0   4,316,402 100.0  
NCR 17,079 44.2 1 17,921 41.2 1 3,542 12.8 2 4,077 12.9 1 1,179,471 35.2 2 1,556,808 36.1 1
Region I 883 2.3 8 1,274 2.9 7 1,522 5.5 8 1,647 5.2 8 103,376 3.1 8 125,578 2.9 9
Region II 835 2.2 11 863 2.0 10 1,101 4.0 11 1,283 4.1 12 73,830 2.2 14 79,931 1.9 15
Region III 2,464 6.4 3 3,480 8.0 3 2,731 9.8 3 3,124 9.9 3 263,944 7.9 3 347,426 8.0 3
Region IVAb 7,645 19.8 2 7,729 17.8 2 4086 14.7 1 3,684 11.7 2 469,477 14.0 1 518,131 12.0 2
Region IVBb 499 1.3 14 631 1.5 14 939 3.0 14 91,755 2.1 14
Region V 1,089 2.8 6 1,537 3.5 6 1,737 6.3 7 1,913 6.1 6 86,430 2.6 9 109,805 2.5 10
Region VI 1,702 4.4 4 1,593 3.7 5 2,320 8.4 4 2,711 8.6 4 218,779 6.5 5 281,441 6.5 5
Region VII 1,352 3.5 5 2,669 6.1 4 2,049 7.4 5 2,223 7.0 5 236,043 7.0 4 296,491 6.9 4
Region VIII 893 2.3 7 1,146 2.6 8 1,379 5.0 9 1,613 5.1 9 81,003 2.4 11 99,350 2.3 11
Region IX 668 1.7 13 844 1.9 12 1,067 3.8 12 1,198 3.8 13 78,196 2.3 13 96,772 2.2 13
Region X 860 2.2 9 1,077 2.5 9 1,218 4.4 10 1,686 5.3 7 124,525 3.7 7 197,102 4.6 6
Region XI 851 2.2 10 852 2.0 11 1,989 7.2 6 1,586 5.0 10 195,198 5.8 6 187,341 4.3 7
Region XII 690 1.8 12 745 1.7 13 958 3.4 13 1,409 4.5 11 84,720 2.5 10 139,167 3.2 8
CAR 490 1.3 15 447 1.0 16 517 1.9 16 600 1.9 17 79,541 2.4 12 97,668 2.3 12
ARMM 226 0.6 17 196 0.5 17 723 2.6 15 929 2.9 16 31,285 0.9 16 36,898 0.9 17
Caraga 408 1.1 16 473 1.1 15 837 3.0 14 931 3.0 15 48,907 1.5 15 54,738 1.3 16

Sources of basic data: 2000 and 2003 Family Income and Expenditures Survey, NSO October 2000 and 2003 Labor Force Survey, NSO a 2000 and 2003 FIES data on total taxes paid by households b Employment and GDP estimates for 2000 covers the entire Region IV

Table 2. Distribution of Total Taxes by Province: 2000 and 2003

Region/Provinces Taxa
2000 2003
Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Rank Levels (in million pesos) Percent distribution Rank
PHILIPPINES 38,636 100.0   43,475 100.0  
NCR 17,079 44.21   17,921 41.22  
Region I 883 2.29   1,274 2.93  
  Ilocos Norte 171 0.44 32 338 0.78 23
  Ilocos Sur 113 0.29 40 208 0.48 31
  La Union 186 0.48 31 394 0.91 20
  Pangasinan 412 1.07 15 333 0.77 24
Region II 835 2.16   863 1.99  
  Batanes 12 0.03 78 23 0.05 75
  Cagayan 195 0.51 30 167 0.38 37
  Isabela 471 1.22 12 432 0.99 17
  Nueva Vizcaya 113 0.29 41 204 0.47 32
  Quirino 44 0.11 63 38 0.09 68
Region III 2,464 6.38   3,480 8.00  
  Aurora 58 0.15 59 48 0.11 65
  Bataan 253 0.66 25 133 0.31 41
  Bulacan 792 2.05 6 965 2.22 7
  Nueva Ecija 346 0.90 19 458 1.05 16
  Pampanga 616 1.59 8 1,305 3.00 5
  Tarlac 111 0.29 42 428 0.99 18
  Zambales 289 0.75 21 142 0.33 40
Region IV-A 7,645 19.79   7,729 17.78  
  Batangas 621 1.61 7 1,118 2.57 6
  Cavite 1,780 4.61 2 2,722 6.26 1
  Laguna 928 2.40 3 1,887 4.34 3
  Quezon 457 1.18 13 348 0.80 22
  Rizal 3,860 9.99 1 1,653 3.80 4
Region IV-B 499 1.29   631 1.45  
  Marinduque 18 0.05 75 22 0.05 76
  Occidental Mindoro 100 0.26 45 108 0.25 46
  Oriental Mindoro 124 0.32 39 168 0.39 35
  Palawan 204 0.53 29 257 0.59 29
  Romblon 52 0.14 60 76 0.17 55
Region V 1,089 2.82   1,537 3.54  
  Albay 412 1.07 16 467 1.07 15
  Camarines Norte 133 0.35 37 54 0.12 62
  Camarines Sur 282 0.73 22 482 1.11 14
  Catanduanes 92 0.24 49 96 0.22 48
  Masbate  63 0.16 58 261 0.60 28
  Sorsogon 107 0.28 43 177 0.41 33
Region VI 1,702 4.41   1,593 3.67  
  Aklan 99 0.25 46 72 0.17 56
  Antique 82 0.21 51 123 0.28 44
  Capiz 147 0.38 34 150 0.35 39
  Guimaras 27 0.07 71 18 0.04 79
  Iloilo 795 2.06 5 614 1.41 9
  Negros Occidental 552 1.43 11 616 1.42 8
Region VII 1,352 3.50   2,669 6.14  
  Bohol 357 0.92 17 173 0.40 34
  Cebu  843 2.18 4 2,159 4.97 2
  Negros Oriental 139 0.36 35 322 0.74 25
  Siquijor 14 0.04 77 14 0.03 81
Region VIII 893 2.31   1,146 2.64  
  Biliran 37 0.09 67 59 0.14 61
  Eastern Samar 40 0.10 66 83 0.19 54
  Leyte 565 1.46 9 551 1.27 11
  Northern Samar 76 0.20 55 68 0.16 57
  Southern Leyte 98 0.25 47 291 0.67 26
  Western Samar  77 0.20 53 95 0.22 49
Region IX 668 1.73   844 1.94  
  Zamboanga del Norte 254 0.66 24 90 0.21 53
  Zamboanga del Sur  414 1.07 14 599 1.38 10
  Zamboanga Sibugayb       126 0.29 43
Isabela Cityb       29 0.07 72
Region X 860 2.23   1,077 2.48  
  Bukidnon 210 0.54 27 360 0.83 21
  Camiguin 16 0.04 76 33 0.08 69
  Lanao del Norte 234 0.61 26 167 0.38 36
  Misamis Occidental 131 0.34 38 117 0.27 45
  Misamis Oriental 269 0.70 23 399 0.92 19
Region XI 851 2.20   852 1.96  
  Compostela Valleyb       61 0.14  
  Davao del Norte 209 0.54 28 261 0.60 27
  Davao del Sur 563 1.46 10 500 1.15 12
  Davao Oriental 79 0.20 52 29 0.07 71
Region XII 690 1.78   745 1.71  
  North Cotabato  162 0.42 33 92 0.21 51
  Sarangani 36 0.09 69 28 0.06 74
  South Cotabato 328 0.85 20 497 1.14 13
  Sultan Kudarat 92 0.24 50 98 0.23 47
Cotabato City 72 0.19 56 30 0.07 70
CAR 490 1.27   447 1.03  
  Abra 36 0.09 68 66 0.15 58
  Apayao 19 0.05 74 17 0.04 80
  Benguet 350 0.91 18 247 0.57 30
  Ifugao 21 0.05 73 49 0.11 63
  Kalinga 22 0.06 72 20 0.05 77
  Mt. Province 42 0.11 65 48 0.11 66
ARMM 226 0.59   196 0.45  
  Basilan 28 0.07 70 28 0.06 73
  Lanao del Sur 43 0.11 64 49 0.11 64
  Maguindanao 47 0.12 61 59 0.14 60
  Sulu 63 0.16 57 42 0.10 67
  Tawi-Tawi 45 0.12 62 18 0.04 78
Caraga 408 1.06   473 1.09  
  Agusan del Norte 103 0.27 44 91 0.21 52
  Agusan del Sur 95 0.25 48 93 0.21 50
  Surigao del Norte 77 0.20 54 127 0.29 42
  Surigao del Sur 134 0.35 36 162 0.37 38

Source of basic data: 2000 and 2003 Family Income and Expenditures Survey, NSO Note: a 2000 and 2003 FIES data on total taxes paid by households b Zamboanga Sibugay (Region IX) and Compostela Valley (Region XII) are new provinces created under EO 36 and EO 103. While Isabela City (Region IX) has been separated from its mother province - Basilan (ARMM). These three domains were not yet covered in the 2000 FIES.

Table 3. Share of Tax and GDP by Industry Classification of Employment of Household Head: 2000 and 2003

Industry/Industry Group Taxa                         GDPb                       Ratio of Tax to GDP (%)
2000 2003 2000 2003 2000 2003
Levels (in million pesos) Share Levels (in million pesos) Share Levels (in million pesos) Share Levels           (in million pesos) Share
Total 31,864.19 100.00 36,534.95 100.00 3,354,727 100.00 4,316,402 100.00 0.95 0.85
                 
Agri, Fishery, and Forestry 2,652.65 8.32 3,146.57 8.61 528,868 15.76 631,970 14.64 0.50 0.50
a. Agriculture and Fishery 2,635.34 8.27 3,129.70 8.57 525,485 15.66 629,705 14.59 0.50 0.50
b. Forestry 17.31 0.05 16.87 0.05 3,383 0.10 2,265 0.05 0.51 0.74
                 
Industry Sector 7,455.63 23.40 8,545.35 23.39 1,082,431 32.27 1,378,870 31.94 0.69 0.62
a. Mining and Quarrying 270.90 0.85 106.65 0.29 21,788 0.65 43,566 1.01 1.24 0.24
b. Manufacturing 5,022.35 15.76 5,634.00 15.42 745,857 22.23 1,004,004 23.26 0.67 0.56
c. Construction 1,543.85 4.85 1,953.30 5.35 217,275 6.48 194,128 4.50 0.71 1.01
d. Electricity, Gas and Water 618.53 1.94 851.40 2.33 97,511 2.91 137,172 3.18 0.63 0.62
                 
Services Sector 21,755.91 68.28 24,843.03 68.00 1,743,428 51.97 2,305,562 53.41 1.25 1.08
a. Transport., Comm, Stor. 3,618.83 11.36 4,613.53 12.63 198,956 5.93 313,180 7.26 1.82 1.47
b. Trade 4,602.06 14.44 4,976.91 13.62 473,004 14.10 602,772 13.96 0.97 0.83
c. Finance 1,666.15 5.23 1,449.05 3.97 149,062 4.44 185,977 4.31 1.12 0.78
d. O. Dwellings and R. Estate 678.28 2.13 544.19 1.49 220,947 6.59 270,074 6.26 0.31 0.20
e. Private Services 3,630.64 11.39 4,551.62 12.46 381,648 11.38 556,490 12.89 0.95 0.82
f. Government Services 7,559.95 23.73 8,707.73 23.83 319,811 9.53 377,069 8.74 2.36 2.31

Sources of data: 2000 and 2003 Family Income and Expenditures Survey, NSO National Statistical Coordination Board a 2000 and 2003 FIES data on total taxes paid by households b At current prices

Table 4. Distribution of Tax and Employment by Major Occupation Group of Household Head: 2000 and 2003

Major Occupation Group Taxa Employed Persons
2000 2003 2003
Levels (in million pesos) Percent Distribution Rank Levels (in million pesos) Percent Distribution Rank Levels (in thousands) Percent Distribution Rank
Total 38,636 100.0   43,475 100.0   31,552 100.0  
Officials of Government and Special Interest Organizations, Corporate Executives, Managers, Managing Proprietors and Supervisors 11,964 31.0 1 11,823 27.2 1 3,646 11.6 3
Professionals 5,446 14.1 2 6,149 14.1 2 1,350 4.3 7
Tecnicians and Associate Professionals 2,130 5.5 6 2,877 6.6 4 884 2.8 9
Clerks 1,645 4.3 8 1,928 4.4 8 1,318 4.2 8
Service Workers, Shop and Market Sales Workers 2,130 5.5 5 2,871 6.6 5 2,882 9.1 5
Farmers, Forestry Workers and Fishermen 2,220 5.7 4 2,482 5.7 7 6,088 19.3 2
Trades and Related Workers                2,042 5.3 7 2,670 6.1 6 2,889 9.2 4
Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers   2,652 6.9 3 3,357 7.7 3 2,369 7.5 6
Laborers and Unskilled Workers   1,275 3.3 9 1,783 4.1 9 10,004 31.7 1
Special Occupations         417 1.1 10 596 1.4 10 122 0.4 10
Not Applicableb 6,715 17.4   6,941 16.0        

Sources of basic data: 2000 and 2003 Family Income and Expenditures Survey, NSO October 2003 Labor Force Survey, NSO Note: a 2000 and 2003 FIES data on total taxes paid by households b Not applicable refers to non-response

Table 5. Tax-Income Ratio by Region: 2000 and 2003

Region Total Taxa (In million pesos) Income (In million pesos) Tax-Income Ratio (In %) Rank Tax-Income Ratio (In %) Rank
2000 2003 2000 2003 2000 2003
Philippines 38,636 43,475 2,187,250 2,437,250 1.8   1.8  
NCR 17,079 17,921 657,268 610,960 2.6 1 2.9 1
Region IVA 7,645 7,729 319,975 402,001 2.4 2 1.9 2
Region VII 1,352 2,669 109,981 147,388 1.2 9 1.8 3
Region IX 668 844 47,913 54,772 1.4 3 1.5 4
Region V 1,089 1,537 85,693 102,922 1.3 8 1.5 5
Region VIII 893 1,146 67,432 77,417 1.3 5 1.5 6
Region X 860 1,077 74,688 80,397 1.2 11 1.3 7
Caraga 408 473 33,324 37,408 1.2 10 1.3 8
Region IVB 499 631 44,470 51,530 1.1 12