Local government units will receive a total national tax allotment (NTA) of P871.3 billion in 2024, up by P51.11 billion or 6.23 percent from P820.2 billion this year, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Tuesday.
Pangandaman said in a statement the increase aimed to stimulate significant inclusive growth of LGUs. She said this was in line with the commitment of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to ensuring that resources are utilized most effectively at local levels, fostering sustained economic development across the country.
“Local government units will be provided with P1.008 trillion, equivalent to 17.5 percent of the proposed FY 2024 national budget. This allocation pertains mainly to statutory shares of LGUs from national taxes, such as the National Tax Allotment and the BARMM Annual Block Grant (ABG), among others,” she said.
“This allocation to LGUs excludes the funds for programs under various national government agencies which are intended for implementation across regions nationwide,” she said.
She said the increase in the FY 2024 NTA shares of LGUs resulted from higher revenue collections in FY 2021 vis-à-vis revenue collections in FY 2020, which could be attributed to the economy’s gradual reopening from the period of lockdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under Sections 284 and 285 of the Local Government Code of 1991, the 83 provinces were allotted P200.416 billion in the proposed total NTA shares.
Meanwhile, the 148 cities and 1,486 municipalities were allocated P201.2 billion and P295.4 billion, respectively, in the proposed total NTA shares. About P174.2 billion was earmarked for the 41,953 barangays in the country.
Each LGU is also mandated to appropriate no less than 20 percent of its NTA share for development projects, which is commonly known as the Development Fund.
The 2024 NTA remains consistent with the Local Government Code of 1991 and the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia Case, which effectively strengthened fiscal decentralization due to the significant increase in the tax base used for the computation of the NTA.
Local governments should have a just share, as determined by law, in the national taxes that would be automatically released according to Section 6, Article X of the General Provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.