Reforms to trigger hike in taxes, says lawmaker

The administration is pushing for tax reforms, but ironically, Filipinos will pay more taxes under President Duterte’s watch, according to Deputy Speaker and Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo.

In a television interview over the weekend, Quimbo, former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, said while the administration vowed to reduce the amount of tax individual income earners were paying, it was also out to impose more taxes.

“What they would give with their right hand, they would take away with their left hand. In fact, they would impose higher and more taxes,” he said.

“They want to withdraw the tax exemptions of senior citizens and persons with disability. They will tax diesel, which public and most transport vehicles use. They will tax cooking gas. They want to collect higher tax on gasoline and cars. These levies will hit not only the middle class but low-income earners as well,” he said.

Quimbo cited the proposed higher tax on cars in particular.

He said among the vehicles that would be levied an additional tax are those priced between P600,000 and P1.2 million.

“These are not luxury vehicles. These are the cars workers and professionals belonging to the middle class buy,” he said.

He said most of the more than 1.5 million government personnel would pay tax under the proposed reduced rates presented by the Department of Finance (DOF), which is seeking to exempt annual income of up to P250,000 from income tax.

Quimbo noted that the lowest-paid public school teacher receives P19,077 a month, plus a mid-year bonus and a 13thmonth pay, for a total of P267,078.

The DOF plans to scrap personal and additional exemptions.

Under the law, a working spouse is entitled to a P100,000 personal exemption, plus P50,000 each for four qualified dependents. Additionally, the other spouse could claim another P100,000.

Opposition Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay said President Duterte’s so-called tax reform package “is anti-poor and antimarginalized.”

“It taxes holiday pay, overtime pay, night shift differential pay, hazard pay and 13th month pay received by lowincome earners; and repeals VAT (value added tax) exemption of people with disabilities and senior citizens,” he said.

The proposal also seeks to impose a P10 excise tax on lubricating oils and greases, waxes and petrolatum, regular gasoline, leaded premium gasoline and aviation turbo jet fuel; and P6 on processed gas, denatured alcohol, kerosene, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, asphalts and bunker fuel.

He added that the imposition of a P6-per-liter tax on diesel would result in higher fares and increased transport cost for consumer products, which in turn would translate into higher consumer prices.

“Since the burden of excise taxes on petroleum products cascades to the ultimate consumer or the general public, the brunt of the tax is borne by ordinary people who constitute the bulk of the consuming public who will not benefit from the tax package,” he stressed.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate suggested that “instead of imposing taxes that would eventually burden the poor, the administration should collect more taxes from the 50 richest oligarchs, who have a combined net worth of $79.5 billion or P3.8 trillion, bigger than next year’s proposed national budget of P3.35 trillion, and the 690 ultra high net worth Filipinos who have at least P1.4 billion each.”

He said the government should also collect more from other rich Filipinos, including corporate executives, and the top 1,000 corporations.