Tax perks given to housing dwarf completed, sold units

AMID the generous tax and other incentives given mass housing projects since 2003, only less than a fifth of them have been completed and sold as of March this year, according to data from the Board of Investments (BOI). The data shows that 147,728 housing units were registered with the BOI from 2003 until July this year, based on the incentives-giving agency’s final evaluation reports. But as of March this year, only 33,234 units have been completed, and only 30,251 units have been sold.

Mass housing projects that were awarded fiscal incentives by the BOI have almost doubled in terms of number and total project cost during the first eight months of the year. They also nearly matched last year’s full-year figures.

Latest BOI data shows that at end-August this year, 63 mass housing projects with investments totaling about P20.281 billion were granted tax and other perks.

The BOI approved the registration of 36 mass housing projects worth a total of P11.172 billion in the same eight-month period last year.

The incentives-giving agency last year approved a total of 71 mass housing projects worth about P21.184 billion.

Most of the mass housing projects that were given incentives during the first eight months this year were in Southern Tagalog (19 projects), the National Capital Region (14 projects), and Western Visayas and Central Visayas (9 projects each).

BOI data also shows that as of July, 332 mass housing projects—238 horizontal projects and 94 vertical housing projects—totaling P90.57 billion have been registered with the incentives-giving agency since it began awarding perks for such projects in 2003.

The Aquino administration has put off its predecessor’s plan to pass a law that would limit tax perks for investors.

This is despite a budget deficit seen hitting P325 billion this year amid anemic tax collections.

Instead of fiscal reform, President Benigno Aquino 3rd has opted to pursue tax cheats and smugglers.
Fiscal authorities have resumed filing cases against tax evaders and smugglers under a program begun by the previous administration.

On Monday, a Department of Finance official warned that the government is unlikely to meet its tax effort target this year in spite of record economic expansion.

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the current growth drivers were “lightly-taxed” sectors such as exports and investments, thus their small contribution to government’s revenue collection. –BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA REPORTER, Manila Times