Sotto casts doubt on tax reform passage by June
THE second tax reform package is not likely to pass before the 17th Congress ends on June 7, with Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III saying that the chamber has other priorities and signalled an unwillingness to compromise on its version of the legislation.
Mr. Sotto said on Wednesday that the tax reform package, which will cut corporate income tax and streamline fiscal incentives, is more likely to move forward if the Senate version is followed.
“If you are talking about the version that has been broadcast
(it will be difficult). The Senate version has a chance. But if it does not make it by June, then we will just have to refile it in July,” he said in a briefing.
He identified 14 priority measures the Senate intends to pass in the third regular session, which did not include Package 2 of the tax reform program, initiated in the House as House Bill No. 8083, or the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities” (TRABAHO) bill.
Asked for comment, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a Viber message that he hopes to hold discussions with the Senate on a timetable for passing the bill.
The House has approved its version of TRABAHO on third reading; while its counterpart measure, Senate Bill No. 1906, the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act, is pending before the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. —