Bill increasing road user’s tax by 300% filed

MANILA, Philippines — A bill that seeks to impose a hefty 300-percent increase on the road user’s tax that is paid by over 11 million Filipinos who own vehicles through annual registration fees at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has been filed at the House of Representatives.

Acknowledging the possibility of angering millions of vehicle owners, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee, has filed House Bill 4695 that seeks to ramp up the motor vehicle user’s charge (MVUC).

The tax is paid by vehicle owners, including motorcycles, in the form of higher annual registration fees paid to the LTO.

Salceda’s proposal is similar to that of the Department of Finance (DOF), which also called for an increase of more than 300 percent in the MVUC.

Last Sept. 11, Salceda told reporters that he was rejecting the DOF proposal.

“If we adopt it, we will have 11 million more enemies,” he said.

He said he would endorse a lower increase of “90-91 percent of existing rates over three years, or 30 percent each year beginning next year.”

Under his bill, the road user tax on cars with gross vehicle weight (GVW) of up to 1,600 kilograms (kg) will go up from the present P800 to P2,912 next year, P3,028 in 2021 and P3,056 in 2022.

The MVUC on vehicles with GVW of 1,600 kg to 2,300 kg will increase from P1,800 to P6,552 in 2020, P6,814 in 2021 and P6,876 in 2022; while the levy on those exceeding 2,300 kilograms in gross weight will jump from P4,000 to P14,560, P15,142 and P15,280 in the next three years.

For utility vehicles of up to 2,700 in GVW, Salceda’s proposed rates are P3,640, P3,785 and P3,820 for 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. The present tax is only P1,000.

For those exceeding 2,700 kilograms, there would be an additional charge for every 100 kgs in excess of 2,700.