The Department of Budget and Management has reduced the National Tax Allotment (NTA) of each province, including Negros Occidental, by more than P100 million, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said yesterday.
Lacson said the DBM used the 2020 population census, instead of the 2015 survey, as basis to reduce the NTA, formerly known as the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share.
There is now a move among governors to reclaim the P100-million reduction, he added.
While Negros Occidental is getting an increase of not less than P1 billion in NTA starting next year, because of the implementation of the Mandanas ruling, Lacson said they still want to recover the P100-million allotment.
The Mandanas ruling of Supreme Court expanded the basis for the computation of NTA, to include collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, taxes from the exploitation of national wealth, excise tax on tobacco products, and other levies provided for in the National Internal Revenue Code and franchise taxes. — GB
