Makati breaches 2023 business renewal revenue

MANILA, Philippines — The Makati City government has surpassed its January 2023 business renewal assessment level, with still over 4,000 businesses expected to renew their permits until the deadline on Jan. 31, Mayor Abby Binay said yesterday.

Citing a report from the city’s business permit and licensing office (BPLO), Binay said the total assessment value for business permit renewal reached over P6.3 billion as of Jan. 21, which was 5.5 percent higher than the P5.9 billion recorded for January 2023.

“With over a week before the deadline, an even higher increase rate is inevitable by month-end. This is great news that augurs well for our fiscal stability for the rest of the year. It looks like we are going to surpass this year’s revenue target again, just as we did last year,” Binay said.

According to the 2023 revenue report of the city treasurer, Makati breached its revenue target by 39 percent, reaching over P24 billion on Dec. 31, 2023.

Local revenue sources, according to the city government, comprised the bulk of collections, led by business tax with P12.5 billion, posting a 37-percent increase compared to 2022.

BPLO records also show 4,842 new businesses were registered in 2023 and 35,872 renewed their business permits. The new businesses brought about P31.58 billion in capital investments, while total gross sales of registered businesses reached P1.6 trillion.

For 2024, Binay said the city has set its total revenue target at P18.3 billion, up by 2.8 percent from its 2023 revenue target of P17.8 billion.