Speaker shuts door on income tax cuts

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.   INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

SPEAKER Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has shut the door on the prospects of the 16th Congress enacting a controversial measure seeking to lower the income tax, saying there’s no point trying to pass a law without President Aquino’s full support.

In a chance interview, the leader of the House of Representatives said he and Senate President Franklin Drilon had hoped to convince Aquino to consider the income tax cuts measure, but the President’s recent remarks in Kuala Lumpur had dashed such hopes.

“At any rate all of that is under the table, because unless the President is 100 percent for it, there’s no use taking it up with the very limited time we have left,” Belmonte said.

“It’s no use now. It’s better to spend your time on something that will get approved, rather than on something only to prove a point,” he said.

But he expressed optimism the 17th Congress would pick up where the 16th Congress left off, by passing the measure under the next President.

“We hope that this will form the initial output of the incoming legislature, the 17th Congress,” Belmonte said.

In an interview with reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday night, Aquino maintained his resistance to the idea of lowering or rebracketing the income tax, which he characterized as fiscally irresponsible.

Belmonte said there was strong opposition to the measure from Aquino’s economic managers, including Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who wanted to ease bank secrecy laws in exchange for passing the bill so the government could run after big tax evaders.