Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has urged the Senate to reconsider the controversial government’s tax reform package that was recently passed by the House of Representatives to guarantee new taxes in support of the pro-poor programs of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“The bill will extend social benefits program to the poorest of the poor where social benefits card will be given to every beneficiary,” Alvarez said.
The House voted 246-9-1 to pass House Bill 5636 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), formerly known as the Comprehensive Tax Reform Package, on third and final reading during the “sine die” adjournment of Congress last Wednesday.
Alvarez said he is hopeful the Senate would consider the measure at the soonest possible time.
For his part, Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, one of the authors of the measure, said the bill’s passage in the the Senate will ensure additional revenues starting this year for the government’s unparalleled infrastructure program.
Villafuerte said the approval of the bill in July, or when Congress opens its Second Regular Session, will equip the administration with a steady revenue flow “to go full blast on its ambitious ‘Build, Build, Build’ agenda while eschewing the debt trap that has saddled past growth and development programs.”
“The measure will help raise extra funds for the government’s massive investments in infrastructure, education, health and social welfare programs for the poorest of the poor,” Villafuerte, House committee on appropriations’ chairperson, said.
HB 5636 of Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, which proposes to exempt workers earning P250,000 and below from paying personal income taxes (PITs), has been branded by critics as anti-poor as many feared that the additional P6 excise tax on petroleum products and P10 per liter excise tax on sugar and sweetened beverages, additional tax on brand new vehicles and among others will have domino effects on basic commodities.
The Cua bill also imposes a 20 percent tax on final cash winnings from lotto and sweepstakes lottery conducted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
From the present P82,000, the measure now increased a tax exemption for P100,000 worth of 13th month pay and other cash benefits received by a taxpayer.
Once enacted, the bill provides that starting January 2019, brand new vehicles will be imposed the following excise taxes: three percent for automobiles sold at P600,000 or below; P18,000 plus 30 percent in excess of P600,000 for automobiles costing above P600,000 to P1.1 million; P168,000 plus 50 percent in excess of P1.1 million for automobiles costing over P1.1 million to P2.1 million; P668,000 plus 80 percent in excess of P2.1 million for automobiles costing over P2.1 million to P3.1 million and P1,468,000 plus 90 percent in excess of P3.1 milliion for automobiles costing over P3.1 million.
The approved version of the bill took out the provision lifting the exemptions of small and medium cooperatives from paying value-added tax.