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SENATOR Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV on Thursday hopes that the government will cancel the excise tax hike on fuel called for under tax reform in order to provide relief from rising prices.
“Now that we know that (the suspension) will be for three months, I’m hoping that they really suspend the excise tax. Why? Because clearly, the additional taxes to petroleum products have pushed the prices of goods upward. If we suspend (for three months), it will be hardly be felt by our countrymen,” he said during the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.
“(Then) they will add more taxes. Isn’t it our goal to really lower the prices of goods? So first of all, we hope it will be suspended, period and secondly you can find this in the Bawas Presyo bill, the excise tax that was added in 2018 should be rolled back,” he added.
He said this was a clearer and more specific solution for addressing inflation, which hit 6.8% in September. Malacañang earlier this month decided to suspend the scheduled increase in fuel excise tax in 2019. During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the government may suspend the 2019 fuel tax hike for “three months at most.”
Mr. Aquino appealed to the government to no longer collect excise taxes from petroleum products because fuel significantly affects food prices and transportation. He said diesel was a vital commodity for farmers, fishermen, and manufacturing companies. Instead, the senator said the administration should pursue reforms in the Bureau of Customs (BoC) collections and in government spending.
“All of these are better options in looking for government revenue than imposing excise taxes on petroleum which affects our food and other goods,” he said.
He also hoped that senators also consider a joint resolution filed by the minority on Oct. 11 urging Congress to amend some provisions of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law and enforce the excise tax rates of fuel under Section 148 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) instead.
“I think this is something we can all work on. There are a number in the majority who are taking a look at this… We’re hoping that we can all come together, and really address this through a joint resolution, and through directly amending the TRAIN law, which is the bill we filed last time,” he said. — Camille A. Aguinaldo
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