SPEAKER Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday expressed hope that President Benigno Aquino III will decide favorably on the proposal to adjust the levels of taxable income to inflation, stressing that Congress has only a few session days left before the year ends.
“We hope the President will finally give his blessings to Congress for the approval of the bill lowering income and corporate tax rates so that we will be able to approve it at least before we adjourn in December or before lawmakers get busy campaigning next year,” Belmonte said.
Belmonte said congressional leaders have yet to get any categorical statement from Aquino whether he supports the measure.
Congress will adjourn on Dec. 19 for a Holiday break. It will resume session on Jan. 19, 2016 and will recess again on Feb. 5, 2016 for the national and local elections’ campaign season in May 2016.
Should the President certify the bill as urgent, Belmonte said the Lower House can pass it before the year ends.
With that, Belmonte said he believes President Aquino will decide “on what is favorable to the greater number and for the greater good.”
Even if Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has taken a hard position on this matter, Belmonte said he is convinced the President will ultimately make decision in favor of his ‘bosses’.
The Finance department had earlier said the proposal may cause the government to lose revenues totaling as much as 1.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product or P30 billion.
House Bill 4829 or the Tax Reform for Inclusive Growth, penned by Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo, chair of the House committee on ways and means, proposed a two-step reform in the current income taxes imposed on individuals and corporations.
The measure seeks to exempt those earning 180,000 and below annually from paying taxes, while those who annually earn above 180,000 to P500,000 will pay nine percent.
The measure provides that the individuals whose yearly income is above P500,000 to P10 million will pay 17 percent, while those with more than P10 million annual income will have to pay 30 percent.
Quimbo earlier said that the P500,000, which currently taxable by 32 percent, needs to be adjusted, considering that this amounts to P1.1 million today.