Lawmaker eyes tax hike on petroleum products

A lawmaker yesterday proposed to push for tax hikes on gasoline and other petroleum products this year.

But Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, who chairs the House committee on ways and means, said fuel for public transportation would be spared from the planned increase in taxes.

“We have to adjust the tax rate for inflation. It has not moved since 1998,” Quimbo told radio station dzBB.

Quimbo said the tax increase on gasoline is one of several measures his committee is working on to recoup some P92 billion in projected revenue losses from the planned restructuring of individual and corporate income tax rates.

“We have agreed with the House leadership that we will push for all of these this year. We will no longer have time for them next year,” he said.

Reacting to the statement, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano lll said Quimbo should rethink his proposal.

“The tax increase will hit the working class and the middle class. A vehicle for an employee who can afford it is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity, what with our monstrous traffic jams,” Albano said, noting that gasoline is one of the most taxed products in the country.

“There is a fixed amount of excise tax on it. It is also subject to value-added tax,” he added.

He pointed out that employees contribute to the bulk of tax revenues from individual taxpayers.

According to Quimbo, there are other measures intended to offset revenue losses, which include the imposition of a tax on soft drinks and similar beverages, and the reduction of tax incentives.