Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
MANILA – Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Monday acknowledged that tax reform successes of the Duterte administration would not have been achieved without the measures made by past governments.
In his speech during the virtual “Sulong Pilipinas: pre-SONA of the Economic Development and Infrastructure Cluster,” Dominguez said the current government is the first in the country’s history to implement tax reforms without being compelled by any entity or an economic crisis.
“I would like to point out, however, that the success of the tax reform measures cannot be attributed exclusively to current efforts. In fact, this is a logical continuation of the decades of reforms arduously passed by previous administrations,” he said.
Tax reforms, along with the infrastructure program called “Build, Build, Build,” are the priority programs of the current government that are targeted to ensure a sustainable growth for the Philippine economy.
Primary to these reforms is the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, which slashed personal income tax for 99 percent of Filipino workers since it excluded from income tax payment those who are earning below PHP250,000 annually.
Under TRAIN, sugary drinks have been imposed on excise taxes, a move to curb Filipinos’ sweetened drinks consumption in a bid to protect their health.
Dominguez said the government collects around PHP100 million daily from excise tax on sugary drinks.
TRAIN also mandated the implementation of the fuel marking program that aims to address oil smuggling.
Revenues from this law reached PHP305 billion in the first three years of implementation, Dominguez said.
Improvement in tax administration also allowed the government to hike excise taxes on sin products, which numbers to three increases since the current government took office in the second half of 2016.
Dominguez said they have been collecting around PHP200 billion annually on the average from cigarette excise tax, more than twice the yearly collection in the past.
The biggest tax settlement from an erring cigarette manufacturer also happened within the current government’s term, after Mighty Corporation was ordered to pay PHP30 billion.
These are just some of the reforms under the current government and Dominguez said they are committed to push for more changes to further lift the economy from the pandemic and sustain its growth post the current health crisis.
“Amid the extraordinary challenge we continue to face, we will not waver in our commitment to ensure that our macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong. We want to make sure that we can face the future with a deep war chest. We will continue to demonstrate our firm resolve of maintaining fiscal prudence while revitalizing the economy,” he added. (PNA)
