Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate slammed Department of Finance (DOF) on Wednesday for its tax reform program that will hit the poor rather than the rich.
In a statement, Zarate strongly opposed the tax reform and said that aside from adding more excise taxes and expanding value added tax (VAT) base, the DOF is also planning to tax money remittance centers where overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and common folk go to send money to their families and relatives.
“Lahat na lang ng makita nila ay gustong buwisan ng DOF (It seemed that the DOF wants to tax everything they see),” he said.
Zarate said that the proposal to expand the VAT base instead of doing away with anti-poor taxes like VAT on system loss on electricity is appalling—people will still have to pay the electricity that they did not use with taxes on top of it. The group proposed to have it scrapped under House Bill 1616.
He called the tax reform program as “blackmail” against Filipinos.
“DOF’s threat that the non-passage of its proposed oppressive tax reform program would mean no infrastructure projects in the country. This is tantamount to public blackmail and should be exposed and opposed as an outright lie,” he said.
“They have not only taken hostage the lowering of income taxes by tying it up with increase in excise taxes and VAT, it seems that they are also blackmailing Filipinos with this tax reform package,” Zarate added.
He said that DOF agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should ensure efficient collection work.
He also revealed that the aggregate lost collection of the agencies for a single year is P600 billion, while the projected tax revenue for the excise taxes for 6 years is only P800 billion.
“Obviously there is no need to raise taxes; the DOF should just be more aggressive and diligent in doing their job,” Zarate added. RAM
RELATED STORIES