By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

FINANCE Secretary Ralph G. Recto has withdrawn the Department of Finance’s (DoF) proposal to increase capital gains tax, donor’s tax and estate tax, citing higher revenue collections in the first quarter.

At the same time, Mr. Recto in a statement on Tuesday said that the government is not seeking to impose new taxes or revenue measures amid the government’s “robust fiscal position.”

“The government is properly managing its finances, ensuring that public needs are met without burdening the citizenry with new taxes,” he said. “At the same time, the DoF will continue to explore and strengthen nontax revenue sources to meet the revenue targets.”

In a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairperson and Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda, Mr. Recto said the DoF is no longer pushing for the proposed amendments to the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) “which primarily sought to introduce measures that would secure our path to fiscal consolidation.”

“The Department respectfully requests to withdraw consideration thereof in view of the better-than-accepted revenue performance during the first quarter of the year,” he said.

Mr. Salceda’s office provided a copy of the letter to the media.

The DoF had previously urged legislators to replace the CMEPA with the Government Revenues Optimization through Wealth Tax Harmonization (GROWTH) bill.

Under its draft GROWTH bill, the DoF proposed to temporarily increase the rates of capital gains tax on real property, donor’s tax, and estate tax to 10% from 2025 to 2030. These rates will be reduced to 6% starting 2031.

The DoF had estimated this could yield around P300 billion in revenues.

In the letter to Mr. Salceda, Mr. Recto said the proposed tax hikes were only intended as a buffer for higher government spending during “times of crisis and to provide the government with fiscal space in the worst-case scenario.”

“With double-digit growth in tax collection, the government is well on track in meeting its fiscal consolidation goals,” Mr. Recto said.

According to the DoF, total tax collections jumped by 13.55% to P931.5 billion in the first three months of 2025, citing stronger tax administration and enforcement.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collections jumped by 16.67% to P690.4 billion as of end-March. Revenues generated by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) rose by 5.72% to P231.4 billion.

“This was primarily due to both revenue agencies’ continued success in strengthening tax administration, digitalization, and enforcement efforts,” the DoF said.

This year, the government is projecting to collect P4.64 trillion in revenues. Of this, P3.23 trillion is expected to come from the BIR and around P1.1 trillion from Customs.

Mr. Recto said the National Government’s (NG) revenue levels are “more than sufficient to support the expenditure requirements.”

The government is also managing its deficit and debt levels, he added.

The government’s deficit ceiling is capped at 5.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. It is seeking to bring this down further to 3.7% by 2028.

The International Monetary Fund  earlier said that the Philippines has space to further enhance its tax efficiency, particularly in excise taxation, value-added tax and tax incentives.

Latest data from the DoF showed that the NG’s revenues as a share of GDP reached 16.72% in 2024, up from 15.73% in 2023.

However, the DoF’s withdrawal of its proposed tax hikes is considered moot since the CMEPA was already ratified by Congress last February. The bill is set to be transmitted to Malacañang for the President’s signature.

“Raising these taxes could have risked discouraging property transactions, capital mobility, and intergenerational wealth transfers, which are crucial for sustaining domestic consumption and investment,” John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said in a Viber message.

The government should carefully evaluate which tax measures to implement, ensuring they do not result in revenue losses while maximizing potential gains for the state, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Mr. Salceda said the government should pursue taxes on luxury goods if it wants to generate additional revenues. 

“That is a better tax on the wealthy,” he said.

Nixing the proposed hike on capital gains tax was a disappointing move, as it could have been a “small step” towards taxing wealthy Filipinos, Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa, executive director of think tank Ibon Foundation, said in a Viber message.

“Keeping the lower rates on capital gains, donor’s and estate taxes reinforces fiscal inequity to favor the wealthy,” he said. — with Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson