Traffic jam tax eyed for malls

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker wants the government to impose a tax on shopping malls for causing monstrous traffic jams in Metro Manila during payday and weekend sales.

“The tax will be used for the improvement and widening of roads as well as building of new road infrastructure,” Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said yesterday.

He said the traffic congestion caused by malls should prompt Congress to impose a tax on mall owners to allow the economy to recoup lost opportunities.

Castelo, chairman of the House committee on Metro Manila development, said the government should consider banning mall sales during the holiday season.

Traffic tax is the solution to decongest major roads in the metropolis, he said.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and mall owners have agreed to extend operating hours from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. until Jan. 15 next year to help ease traffic during the Christmas season.

Starting November, mall sales will also be limited to weekends, according to the MMDA.