House leaders for lower income tax rates, K to12 support fund

HOUSE leaders say that despite its non-inclusion in the list of priority bills, they would still pursue the lowering of income tax rates for the country’s individual taxpayers.

Time to lighten the tax burden on low-income earners, they press.

*** Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo vow to push the measure to the ninth slot in the list of priority bills.

Priority bill #9 could make the people happy. And supportive legislators could get lucky in the coming polls,too.

*** The current tax system is “totally unacceptable” and grossly unfair to small income tax payers who have been faithful in paying their taxes, says Quimbo, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

“There must be a solution; the status quo does not work,” he asserts.

*** Belmonte and Quimbo say they are open to discussing counterproposals with finance and tax authorities to address feared revenue shortfall and higher budgetary deficit.

Dialogue and resolve gray areas, Your Honors.

*** The two lawmakers claim that there is an urgent need to restructure the income tax rates to make them fair to individual income earners who are paying as high as 32 percent tax on their income aside from battling inflation.

Lower income tax means greater purchasing power, they argue.

*** Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez calls for greater DOLE budgetary allocation for its JobStart Philippines which raises youth employability through technical and life skills training, and for its assistance to teaching and non-teaching personnel to be adversely affected by the K to 12 Program.

More support funds for JobStart and K to 12 programs, he demands.

***

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz discloses that DOLE proposed 324-million budget for JobStart but the Department of Budget and Management gave them only 106 million.

So how could we easily jumpstart JobStart? she asks.

*** Baldoz adds that DOLE also sought 700-million funding for assistance to teaching and nonteaching personnel who would be affected by the K to 12 program but was given only 500 million.

More assistance for teachers and non-teaching personnel, she sighs.

*** “Those two items would be very crucial, one is for employment, and the other one for social intervention” of 30,050 teaching personnel and 6,000 non-teaching personnel would be affected by the K to 12 program, Baldoz explains.

Enough funding for K to 12 displacement, Rodriguez adds.

*** The House Independent Bloc asks the DOTC to explain the government’s alleged plan to make 7.5 billion in “penalty payment” to a big consortium for unfulfilled obligations under a concession agreement for the LRT-1 Cavite Extension project.

Why waste tax money just on “penalties”? they ask.

*** BUHAY Rep. Lito Atienza, Abakada Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, and Bayan legislators say that instead of wasting people’s money, the government should allot more funds “for livelihood programs, health concerns, and priority projects for the education sector.”

No to “wasting of public funds,” they cry.