Roxas: Implement minimum wage tax exemption now

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas chided the government for deciding to limit the application of the newly-passed tax exemption law for only half of this year.

This, as he said that nothing stops the government from applying Republic Act No. 9504—which exempts minimum wage earners from income taxes and increases the personal exemptions of other workers—from January 1, 2008 and not just from July 6, the date of effectivity of the law.

“The government promised this law years back and they even pointed the finger at Congress for the delays. And now they decided amongst themselves to make a half-hearted application of the law,” he said.

“Dapat ipaliwanag ng Pangulo sa taumbayan—lalo na sa mga manggagawa—kung bakit nito hinayaan ang DOF na i-apply lang sa kalahating taon itong tax exemption, gayong puwede namang magpairal ng political will at ipatupad ito sa buong 2008 na,” he said.

“Ano ba ang mas mahalaga sa gobyerno? Ang mabigyan ng ginhawa ang mga manggagawa sa kabila ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin at iba pang krisis na hinaharap nila? O ang protektahan ang kita nito?” he added.

Roxas also said the government must explain how the new law will be implemented vis-à-vis Revenue Regulation 01-2006, which exempted minimum wage earners from the collection of withholding taxes since January 2006.

“Sa ilalim ng IRR ng DOF, ang sahod ng mga manggagawa magmula sa Hulyo hanggang sa Disyembre ngayong taon ang hindi na papatawan ng buwis, at kailangang magbayad pa rin ng buwis para sa sahod nila magmula sa Enero hanggang Hunyo. Pero sa kabila nito, hindi na pala kinakaltasan ang mga manggagawa ng withholding tax,” he explained.

“Ang ibig sabihin ba nito, maglalabas pang muli ang mga manggagawa ng pera nila para magbayad ng buwis, gayong pinaasa sila noon pa na hindi na ito kokolektahin pa?,” he stressed.

Roxas however welcomed an earlier proposal to require employers to submit a quarterly list of minimum wage earners eligible for tax exemption was scrapped. “Salamat at kahit papaano’y nakinig ang DoF sa atin sa probisyong ito, na magpapatagal pa sa proseso at magdadagdag lang sa burukrasya,” he said.

“Huwag nating kalimutan na ang batas na ito ay para sa ginhawa ng mga mahihirap. Our workers should be able to enjoy benefits immediately, and policy must be geared towards their welfare,” he added.