Subic Freeport expects record revenues this year

The Subic Bay Freeport expects revenues from duties and taxes to breach the P5.3-billion record in 2007, as total collections at the end of third quarter already reached P4.08 billion.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator and CEO Armand C. Arreza said total collections after the first three quarters of the year is only P1.2 billion short of the full-year collection figure in 2007.

“By all indications, Subic is defying the odds. 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,” Arreza said.

Data released by the SBMA show that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported a total cash collection of P2.97 billion from January to September, while the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P1.11 billion.

“The continued growth of these indicators brings about the rise in the taxes and duties collected in Subic,” Arreza said.

The BOC figure represented a growth of 5.82 percent growth over the previous year. Aside from its cash collection, the BOC reported non-cash receipts worth P4.53 billion.

The Customs office in Subic traditionally sources its earnings from importation duties and taxes on oil, motor vehicles, general merchandise and the operations of multinational courier Federal Express.

Arreza said despite the current economic crisis, importations by manufacturers and traders had grown steadily in the last two years, from $1.62 billion in 2006 to $1.79 billion last year.

In the nine-month period this year, the Subic BOC made its highest collection in September with P430.7 million.

For BIR, the report showed collection of P1.11 billion tax which is an increase of 8.02 percent when compared to the P1.02 billion accumulated in the first nine months last year.

The BIR office derives its collections from 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 collection agency also reported that its collection peaked in the second quarter when it recorded P423.4 million, with P210 million collected in April alone.

Arreza said that revenue collection in Subic will further increase with the entry of more than 141 new investment projects approved by the SBMA over the last nine months.