A consumer group on Tuesday said motorists were being overcharged for the value-added tax on fuel and urged the Finance department to conduct an audit and correct the problem immediately.
In a letter to Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Lambino, Laban Konsyumer Inc. attached two receipts from the Petron gasoline station in Dahlia corner Lilac, Barangay Fairview, Quezon City.
“Our computation shows VAT was paid on top of VAT on the second tranche of excise taxes and resulted in overpayment of VAT of P0.025 per liter by the consumers for the current year,” said LKI president Victorio Mario Dimagiba, referring to the second round of excise tax increases under the Tariff Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law.
“This computation is also applicable on the first tranche of excise taxes on fuels for 2018 and resulted in overpayment of P0.085 per liter of VAT,” he said.
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LKI urged the Finance department to “take appropriate remedies, rebates or refunds as allowed by law” to correct the overcharge.
Under the second tranche of TRAIN Law’s implementation, an additional excise tax of P2.00 will be imposed per liter of diesel and gasoline, and P1.00 per kilogram on household LPG.
There will also be an additional 12 percent value-added tax, which totals to P2.24 for both diesel and gasoline, and P1.12 for LPG.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said it will file a petition for a P355 wage increase in all regional wage boards to raise the salary of workers amid rising prices as a result of TRAIN.
TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said the labor center is monitoring the movement of prices of goods and services following the increase in the prices of diesel and gasoline effective Jan. 8 this year.
Based on TUCP computation, they might file a minimum of P313 to a maximum of P355 wage increase petition based on the current prices of commodities and services to regional wage boards nationwide despite strong opposition from employers and business groups.
“We will be citing supervening conditions in filing the petitions. We are also going to test once again the capacity of the wage boards to remain relevant with their mandate to raise the minimum wage to an amount that can ably support a family,” Mendoza said.
Workers groups have denounced the wage increase granted by all 17 wage boards as inadequate.
