Poe seeks fund for mass transportation projects from petroleum excise tax

Senator Grace Poe is proposing to allot revenues from petroleum excise taxes during the first tranche of the tax reform package to supplement public mass transportation projects, addressing traffic congestion.

Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, said she wrote Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means and principal sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1592 or the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act seeking to overhaul the Philippine tax system.

The senator stressed that it is important to put in place a provision in the measure for transportation projects that would benefit the public.

“We are hoping that this earmark in the tax reform could help fund ambitious mass transportation projects without the need to fully rely on foreign borrowings,” Poe said.

The Senate has yet to resume deliberations on the TRAIN bill which awaits passage on second reading.

The Senate version of the tax reform package proposed that the 1 6 excise taxes on petroleum be implemented in three tranches to avoid causing inflationary impact: 11.75 for the first year, 12 for the second, and 12.25 for the third—or from 2018 up to 2020 if the timeline to pass the measure before yearend is considered.

Under the earmarking provisions of the bill, the government shall allocate incremental revenues generated from the petroleum excise tax to aid in the implementation of public utility vehicle modernization projects.

Poe wanted the provision amended to include “other mass transportation projects.”

The Department of Finance earlier estimated that the government will generate some 1 40 billion in revenues if the Senate version on oil excise taxes is approved.