Clean Air Asia supports hike in auto, fuel taxes

MANILA, Philippines - An international organization which advocates for better air quality in the region is supporting the Duterte administration’s proposal to raise excise taxes on fuel and vehicles as it is seen to become a tool to curb air pollution in the country.

In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Clean Air Asia has lauded the government’s move to push for higher excise tax collection on automobile and petroleum products under the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

“We welcome the government’s work to reform taxation initiatives and we believe they have the potential to contribute towards improving the welfare of the Filipino people,” Clean Air Asia executive director Bjarne Pedersen said in a statement of support.

“We look forward to more progressive policies that would further contribute towards sustainable transport, better air quality, and better citizen welfare,” he said.

Clean Air Asia also supported the government’s plan to utilize the projected additional excise tax revenues on improving the country’s transport system.

“(The DOF’s proposed excise tax reforms) can contribute towards potentially reducing wasteful consumption of fossil fuels in the transport sector, alleviating rapid motorization by utilizing part of the revenues for projects that improve the efficiency of the transport systems in the country, and internalizing associated environmental and health costs, such as those from air pollution,” Pedersen said.

“We highly encourage the Philippine government to instate a mechanism that would ensure that the revenue will be used for projects that promote efficiency and sustainability in the transportation sector, such as low emissions public transportation projects,” he said.

The organization, citing data from the Environment Management Bureau (EMB), said automobiles account for 90 percent of the discharged amounts of air pollutants in the National Capital Region.

It also pointed out that traffic congestion results in wasted fuel and time, and therefore, economic losses.

The first package of the CTRP, which is outlined in House Bill 4774, endorsed by Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua, seeks to simplify the country’s tax system through lowering of personal income tax rates and unifying donor and estate taxes, among others.