NAPATAAS ng administrasyong Duterte ang infrastructure spending sa 5.5 percent ng gross domestic product (GDP) noong nakaraang taon sa tulong ng matatag na kita mula sa tax reform program.
Ayon sa Department of Finance (DOF), binaligtad nito ang ‘chronic underspending’ ng pamahalaan sa imprastraktura, na may average lamang na 2.8 percent ng GDP ng bansa sa nakalipas na kalahating siglo.
“With additional proceeds from the comprehensive tax reform program, the government intends to increase infrastructure spending further to 7 per-cent of the GDP by 2022, completing one of two sources—capital accumulation—that the World Bank has cited to sustain the economy’s long-term high growth,” wika ni Finance Undersecretary at DOF chief economist Gil Beltran.
Ayon kay Beltran, ang infrastructure spending ng bansa na nasa 2.8 percent ng GDP sa nakalipas na 50 taon ay napakaliit kumpara sa 5 percent para sa iba pa sa Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 5, na kinabibilangan din ng Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia at Singapore.
“The government is also putting in place several measures to secure total factor productivity, which is the other source of long-term growth cited by the World Bank,” aniya.
“Fiscal policy has been the Achilles’ heel of the Philippine economy, at least as regards macroeconomic stability. Our past tax measures were large-ly passed to stave off brewing fiscal imbalances. Now that our fiscal position is in a much better footing, it is time to turn our gaze towards growth and equity,” sabi pa ni Beltran.
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