FINANCE Secretary Ralph Recto is eyeing the approval of adjusted priority reform measures this year to allow the government to meet its fiscal targets.

"In my first week as Secretary of Finance, we have worked to review all proposals and have reconsidered some key provisions," he said in a statement on Friday.

"This is in consideration of the economic situation, where some proposals might have unintended consequences in terms of inflation or in terms of possibly hindering growth in some sectors," he added.

Earlier this week, Recto said the government would not be introducing new taxes and that priority bills would be reviewed to minimize the impact on inflation and consumers.

The measures include taxing digital service providers (DSP) and single-use plastics, Package 4 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), rationalization of the fiscal regime for mining, and adjustments to the Motor Vehicle User's Charge (MVUC).

The DSP tax, expected to raise P83.8 billion from 2024 to 2028, aims to create a level playing field between local and foreign DSPs by ensuring that services provided by the latter in the country are subject to value-added tax.

Package 4, meanwhile, aims to boost financial market growth by simplifying taxes on passive income and specific financial instruments. Recto said the Finance department would retain the structure for some products and postponing the implementation of certain provisions to 2028 or until the government is in a stronger fiscal position.

The measure is expected to generate an additional estimated revenue of P12.2 billion from 2024 to 2028.

The tax on single-use plastics is expected to generate P33.9 billion, changes to the mining fiscal regime will add P47 billion, and MVUC updates will contribute P36.0 billion over the same period.

"Considering these reforms altogether, we expect total revenues to grow from 15.5 percent of GDP in 2024 to 16.8 percent of GDP in 2028," Recto said.

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