FILE PHOTO: Senator Grace Poe at the Senate. – Poe refiles a bill that will impose an automatic suspension of excise on gasoline and diesel when average Dubai crude oil price exceeds $80 per barrel over a three-month period. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe has refiled her bill seeking automatic suspension of excise tax on gasoline and diesel when the average Dubai crude oil price exceeds $80 per barrel over a three-month period.
Poe, who is poised to chair the Senate committee on public services, filed the still unnumbered bill in a bid to amend Section 148 of the National Internal Revenue Code.
According to the senator, the measure will reduce the price of gasoline and diesel by P10 per liter and P6 per liter, respectively.
“Taking off P6 from the price of diesel per liter during critical times can help our drivers ply their routes again. At the same time, it will lower the cost of transporting goods,” Poe said in a statement.
Citing data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Poe said inflation rate has risen in all 17 regions in the country, stressing that transportation accounted for 31.7 percent of the increase in inflation in June.
Transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide earlier estimated that 20 percent of the 900,000 jeepney drivers in the country have ceased their operations due to losses amid oil price hikes.
READ: Commuters suffer as many kings of the road relinquish crown
“The wheels of the economy can go faster if public transport is able to move people to work or buy goods and essentials that they can afford,” Poe said.
The Department of Finance previously reported that the country is slated to lose more than P100 billion if the excise tax and value-added tax or VAT on fuel are suspended.
“If the government can afford to lose P251 billion to benefit big companies under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act in the first two years, why can’t it do the same for our public utility drivers, delivery riders and ordinary workers who bear the brunt of higher transport costs?” Poe asked.
Former Senator Panfilo Lacson had backed Poe’s proposal, saying “the government for so long has afforded over 100 lines of value-added tax exemptions.”
READ: Lacson seeks reduction of VAT exemptions
“The government could have earned at least ₱117 billion in additional tax revenues in 2018 alone, even with a reduced VAT rate from 12 to 10 percent, by removing 78 lines of exemption from some sectors such as power, cooperatives, housing and economic zones,” Lacson had said. — Iliana Padigos, INQUIRER.net intern