The President of the Republic of the Philippines, President Benigno S. Aquino III has scolded some of his close allies in the House of Representatives for pushing for the passage of a bill that aims to reduce income taxes.
According to some sources who told The Star, Pres. Aquino sent a stinging text message to some lawmakers who have been vocal in pushing the income tax reform bill that the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have warned would lead to P30 billion in annual revenue losses.
Earlier report stated that Pres. Aquino’s ally and speaker of the Lower House, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo said that the House of Representatives would press for the passage of the bill and continue to seek Pres. Aquino’s backing for it.
Although the proposed bill for income tax cuts got the support of some administration’s lawmakers, Malacañang earlier said it would agree to support the measure if Congress raises the value-added tax to 14 percent, a condition immediately rejected by lawmakers and received with massive condemnation by the public.
Some experts noted that the measures of lowering the income tax is expected to greatly ease the burden on fixed-income earners, who have to make do with low take-home pay. Bill proponents also noted that under the current tax setup in the Philippines, ordinary wage earners pay almost the same taxes as more affluent businessmen.