DOF sees swift Senate OK of tax plan
“With the President’s certification of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act) as an urgent and a priority measure, complemented by the personal appeal he made before our lawmakers in his SONA, we are hopeful the Senate will pass the measure soon enough so it could be implemented possibly by the third or fourth quarter of the year,” Dominguez said in a statement. File
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Finance (DOF) remains optimistic the tax reform bill will swiftly get the approval of the Senate following President Duterte’s appeal for the urgent passage of the measure during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday.
“With the President’s certification of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act) as an urgent and a priority measure, complemented by the personal appeal he made before our lawmakers in his SONA, we are hopeful the Senate will pass the measure soon enough so it could be implemented possibly by the third or fourth quarter of the year,” Dominguez said in a statement.
Last May, Duterte sent a letter to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III certifying the tax reform bill as a priority measure which needs immediate approval from the Congress.
During his speech, Duterte said the reforms proposed in the TRAIN bill are “designed to be pro-poor, especially when the people understand how the revenues will be spent.”
“The poor and vulnerable are at the heart of my tax reform. Your support would ensure that the benefits of the tax reform can be felt immediately by them,” he said.
Duterte also stressed the importance of the TRAIN to fund the P3.767 trillion 2018 proposed national budget submitted to the Congress on Monday.
The president also cited the role of infrastructure spending in the administration’s economic agenda
to sustain high growth, attract investments, create jobs and reduce poverty.
House Bill 5636 contains the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the government, which aims to simplify the country’s tax system and improve the efficiency of tax collection efforts.
According to the DOF, the key features of the bill include the lowering of personal income tax rates indexed to cumulative Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation every three years; unified estate and donor’s taxes at a flat rate of six percent and broadening the tax base by removing special laws on VAT exemptions.
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