MANILA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it has approved a loan of 400 million U.S. dollars to help the Philippines achieve its medium-term fiscal strategy and finance its post-pandemic economic recovery through a stronger focus on revenue mobilization.
The ADB said the program is its first policy-based loan dedicated to domestic resource mobilization (DRM) reform.
It will help address the Southeast Asian country's need to tackle discrepancies in tax policy frameworks to boost tax compliance, reduce tax avoidance, and raise more revenues from activities and products that significantly impact the environment or contribute to climate change, the bank said.
ADB Senior Economist for Public Finance Aekapol Chongvilaivan said the DRM program will result in a higher tax-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio and ensure sustainable financing for the country as it sets out to achieve its goals under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. ■
