Transport caravan hits VAT

LIPA CITY—Local officials led by Batangas Vice Gov. Antonio Leviste II, bus operators and residents staged a transport caravan across the province on Thursday to dramatize their opposition to the 12 percent expanded value added tax (E-VAT) on tolls for the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR).

“Toll is already a tax imposed by the government on motorists using the expressways in the country. Imposing a 12-percent E-VAT is ‘taxing’ tax,” Leviste said.

The tax, which the Bureau of Internal Revenue plans to impose by Oct. 1, is against the original intent of Republic Act No. 9337 or the E-VAT Law, authored by Sen. Ralph Recto, husband of Gov.  Vilma Santos-Recto, exempting toll way operators, he adde.

If it collects the tax, the “BIR is creating a chain of poverty,” warned Josephine Ladrillano, secretary general of the South Luzon Bus Operators Association.

Members of the National Council for Commuter Protection (NCCP) also joined the caravan. Jerome Balinton, Inquirer Southern Luzon