Chiz urges government to focus on tax cheats instead of tax hikes

SENATOR Chiz Escudero has warned the government against introducing new tax measures as they would burden the public which have yet to recover from the pandemic.

He said the government should instead boost its fight against corruption, go after tax cheats, and cut unnecessary expenditures.

“Taxation should be the last resort, not the first option. You reduce unnecessary expenses to cancel the need for unreasonable taxes,“Escudero said, adding that extracting more taxes from the people is the wrong way to revive an economy hit by a pandemic.

“How will they recover if you will pull them down with the new taxes?” Escudero said. Choked by the pandemic, he noted that the last thing the public deserves is to be choked by taxes this time.

He said rising inflation also provides the “wrong timing” to hike taxes. “Because it reduces purchasing power,” the senator said, adding that “inflation is a form of taxation imposed without legislation.’”

“Adding high taxes to high prices of goods is like pouring gasoline on fire,“he further stated.

Government, he said, “should not reward our people’s tax obedience with more taxes or that would be a form of compliance punishment.”

Reports said the Department of Finance (DOF) will be pushing for new and higher taxes on sugary drinks, and motor vehicles, among others.

The DOF said that three proposed taxes alone could generate P81.9 billion annually on the first year of implementation.

The Bureuue of Internal Revenue also plans to impose a creditable withholding tax of 1% on one-half of the gross remittances of online platform providers to their partner-sellers or merchants.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo meanwhile is proposing a one-strike policy for abusive employers who are not complying with the country’s minimum wage law and are not giving the benefits due to their workers.