Roxas, TUCP ask SC to junk "half-baked" tax exemption

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, the Philippines’ biggest union federation, announced today they will contest before the Supreme Court the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s “half-baked” income tax exemption for minimum wage earners, contrary to Congress’ intentions under Republic Act No. 9504, enacted last June 17.

“Binaligtad ng BIR at ng DoF ang intensyon ng mga mambabatas na bigyang ginhawa ang mga manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng income tax exemption. Una, sisimulan lang nila ang exemption sa July 6, imbes na sa simula ng taon. Pangalawa, ang mga minimum wage earner na may ibang sources of income ay hindi na ie-exempt. Bilang principal author nitong batas, ay lalabanan ko ang maling interpretasyon ng ehekutibo dito,” Roxas said.

He noted that minimum wage earners would stand to lose about P5,000 in exemptions from January to June, as a result of the erroneous implementing rules and regulations of RA 9504. This is P36 per day, or P792 a month, lost per worker. With about 500,000 minimum wage earners, a full-year exemption would mean a total of P2.5 billion given back to the people to help them cope with the high cost of living.

“Napakalaking savings ang nawawala sa taumbayan gawa nitong half-baked tax exemption na gusto ng BIR at DoF. Katumbas ito ng isang kilong bigas, o tatlong lata ng sardinas bawat araw na mabibili sana ng isang manggagawa para sa kanyang pamilya. Maling-mali, switik at madaya ang pamamaraan ng BIR at DoF para makakolekta ng dagdag na buwis sa mga taong bayan,” he said.

Last week, Roxas wrote Finance Secretary Margarito Teves calling for the reconsideration of Revenue Regulations No. 10-2008, particularly the provisions providing for only a half-year exemption for minimum wage earners, and the limited scope of minimum wage earners eligible for the tax relief.

“Hinihintay pa namin ang sagot ng DoF sa aking liham, pero maghahain na tayo ng petisyon sa Korte Suprema para masimula na ang proseso ng pagbasura ng half-baked income tax exemption na gusto ng BIR,” he said.

Thursday, October 2, 2008 | posted in bir, dof, mar roxas, margarito teves, minimum wage, philippines, president, supreme court, tucp | 1 comments [ More ]

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.

Thursday, September 25, 2008 | posted in dof, mar roxas, margarito teves, minimum wage, pgma, philippines, president | 0 comments [ More ]

Roxas pushes ZERO VAT ON OIL to ease consumer price increases

After the price of crude oil closed above $100 a barrel for the first time on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Sen. Mar Roxas urged Congress to summon enough political will to suspend the value-added tax (VAT) on oil and petroleum products.

Roxas said the proposed suspension of the 12% VAT on oil, as proposed in Senate Bill No. 1962, would in a big way help ease inflation, which rose to a 15-month high of 4.9 percent in January, as consumer prices surged across all commodity groups.

“Wala tayong pagdududa na itong pagtaas ng presyo ng krudo ay magdudulot ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin. Kaya dapat nang i-suspinde ang VAT sa langis para pigilan ang pag-akyat pa ng mga presyo ng bilihin,” Roxas said.

“The suspension of the VAT on oil will definitely help restrain consumer price increases going forward, and extend direct and material relief to our people, particularly those getting fixed wages," said Roxas, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade.

Roxas said that suspending the VAT now is the best safety net in these times of high prices of goods, coupled with escalating political tensions amid fresh accusations of massive corruption in the botched National Broadband Network project.

“Let’s take advantage now of the ‘goodness of heart’ of some people in Malacañang. But instead of P500,000 per witness, why don’t they give a break to the people worth P4 per liter of diesel or P65 per 11-kilo tank of LPG?” he quipped.

Crude oil prices soared amid persistent concern as to whether production can keep up with rising global demand. The price closed at $100.01 on the Nymex on Tuesday – the first-ever close above the $100-a-barrel mark.

Earlier, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that the country's inflation surged to 4.9 percent in January. This was more than two percentage points higher than the 2.8 percent average inflation in 2007. Furthermore, the prices of rice, corn, cereal, dairy products, eggs, fish and fruits all went up sharply in January.

“Hindi lang transportasyon ang apektado dito. Ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda natin ay biktima rin ng abot-langit na presyo ng petrolyo, na ginagamit nila sa kanilang mga bangka at sa irigasyon,” Roxas said.

"Our proposal to temporarily lift the VAT on oil is a fair, sensible and practical way for us to provide direct relief to ordinary Filipinos. We will be helping not only small food producers, but also plain consumers," he said.

Thursday, February 21, 2008 | posted in e-vat, mar roxas, margarito teves, oil, pgma, philippines, president, zte deal | 0 comments [ More ]

Roxas: Near-balanced budget allows for oil VAT suspension

Senator Mar Roxas said the near-balanced budget for the entire 2007 as announced by the Finance department would prudently allow for a temporary suspension of the value-added tax (VAT) on oil products, to ease the plight of ordinary Filipinos while ensuring sustained fiscal stability.

“Our 2007 deficit is only at P9.4 billion, roughly seven times smaller than the deficit target of P63 billion at the start of last year. If we suspend the VAT on oil products for six months – which the government has admitted would have a relatively small impact of P15 billion – we will still be on track for a balanced budget,” said Roxas, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce.

“Suspending the VAT on petroleum goods is an appropriate response to our improved fiscal standing, especially with the reduced spending that our people face due to record-high prices of oil,” he added.

The Liberal Party President noted that even with a suspended VAT on oil products, the government’s deficit would reach only around P25 billion, still less than 0.3% of the P6.65-trillion GDP for 2007. Prior to this, the government had targeted for the deficit to be 0.9% of GDP.

“Our fiscal rating has been recently upgraded by Moody’s, and the government is very capable of providing this much-needed relief for our people. Clearly, we can maintain both the trust of our people and that of international credit rating agencies,” he said.

“Our people do not accept that our policymakers are helpless in this issue; they can very well spur consumer spending and the economy as a whole by not collecting the VAT on petroleum products,” he added.

Roxas has filed Senate Bill No. 1962 for the suspension of VAT on oil products for six months, which is now being heard by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. A counterpart bill has been filed in the House by fellow LP stalwart Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya. The Constitution requires a tax measure to be passed in the House before being discussed in the Senate plenary.

“I believe my colleagues in the House recognize the urgency of this measure, and will roll it out at the soonest possible time,” Roxas said.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 | posted in e-vat, mar roxas, margarito teves, migz zubiri, oil, pgma, philippines, president | 2 comments [ More ]

Roxas vows to push for immediate relief thru oil VAT suspension

Senator Mar Roxas vowed to continue the fight for the suspension of the 12% value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products, even if the administration has repeatedly rejected the said measure, which seeks to bring immediate relief to commuters and consumers.

“Ilang beses nang ni-reject at tinanggihan ng gobyerno ang ating simple ngunit kongkretong panukala para tanggalin ang VAT sa langis. Pero hindi ibig sabihin nito na titigil tayo sa pagpupursigi na maipasa ito bilang batas at mabigyan ng agad na ginhawa ang ating mga konsyumer,” he said.

“Our simple yet concrete proposal will bring immediate relief worth P4 per liter of diesel and P65 per 11-kilo tank of LPG. If the government does not want to listen to the people’s plight, then we will. We’ll work to pass this as law, and the government will have to follow,” he added.

While recognizing that many of the proposals that resulted from the Energy Summit are good, especially for the long-term, Roxas warned the government against giving any illusion that these would result in immediate relief for the people from all-time high world oil prices.

For instance, he said the counter-proposal of the government to provide a VAT refund to consumers through a “coupon system” might be too complex and thus unresponsive to Juan de la Cruz’ urgent needs.

“Do not dangle expectations of immediate relief from these convoluted and untested proposals like this proposed coupon refund system. What the people need are direct and immediate relief, not these tedious measures that may not even achieve intended results,” he told the administration.

“The proposals during the Energy Summit are good for the long term, and I would even support some of these, like the Renewable Energy bill, which I’ve long supported. But at the same time, our people need measures for immediate relief, which we seek through the suspension of the VAT on oil,” he added.

The proposal for VAT refund through a “coupon system” was floated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her speech during the concluding rites of the Energy Summit. Said coupon system would be funded by excess revenues from the sale of Transmission Corp. and the National Power Corp., and proceeds from the Malampaya Natural Gas Project.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 | posted in e-vat, mar roxas, margarito teves, oil, pgma, philippines | 0 comments [ More ]

Sen. Mar Roxas on Zero-VAT on oil

FAIRNESS ABOVE ALL. Senator Mar Roxas stressed that the people's plight in light of an "abnormal" situation of high oil prices is more important to consider than what Moody's and other international credit rating firms say. He said the bottom line of his proposal to suspend the 12% value-added tax on oil is fairness.

Speaking before members of the People's Unity Against Oil Price Hikes in Balay Kalinaw at the University of the Philippines, Roxas stressed that the crisis now has shifted to Juan dela Cruz and his weakening purchasing power, and the old medicine used to cure the previous problem of a government fiscal crisis is not anymore appropriate. Also shown in the picture are Emmie de Jesus of Gabriela, Dr. Giovanni Tapang of AGHAM and Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño.

ZERO VAT ON OIL NOW! Senator Mar Roxas, together with leaders of various groups forming the "People's Unity Against Oil Price Hikes," demand from the government to act responsively in easing the people's burden in light of an "abnormal" situation of high oil prices. Together, they called for the immediate suspension of the 12% value-added tax on oil products, which would provide immediate relief to jeepney and tricycle drivers, housewives, farmers and fishermen.

Together with him in a forum at Balay Kalinaw at the University of the Philippines are: Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran (hidden), Wilson Baldonaza of Kilusang Mayo Uno, Sammy Malunes of Anakpawis (hidden), Renato Reyes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Rafael Mariano of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Emmie de Jesus of Gabriela, Ferdie Gaite of COURAGE and Dr. Giovanni Tapang of AGHAM.

Sunday, January 27, 2008 | posted in e-vat, mar roxas, margarito teves, oil, pgma, philippines, president | 0 comments [ More ]

Sen. Roxas expresses dismay on Gary Teves

Senator Mar Roxas said he will not hesitate to block before the Commission on Appointments (CA) the confirmation of Finance Secretary Margarito Teves for the latter’s refusal to suspend the Expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) on the prices of gasoline.

Roxas said this as he expressed dismay after Teves outrightly rejected the senator’s proposal to suspend EVAT on oil.

Read more...

Friday, December 21, 2007 | posted in e-vat, mar roxas, margarito teves, philippines | 0 comments [ More ]