马尼拉——参议院税务委员会正在审查前总统罗德里戈杜特尔特政府早先提出的偿还国家债务和维持经济增长的措施。

据参议院税收研究办公室(STSRO)称，参议院筹款委员会正在研究财政部在时任财政部长卡洛斯多明戈斯(卡洛斯多明格斯)领导下提出的财政整合和资源调动计划。

杜特尔特的愚蠢的计划，本应在2023年至2025年实施，包括以下：

推迟火车所得税减免

提高燃料消费税

增值税扩张

对摩托车、皮卡车征税

对酒和香烟征收更高的税

合理化税收和采矿

房地产税改革

对…征税

数字服务

秘密党员

一次性塑料

赌场入场

碳排放

财政部提议在税收改革促进加速和包容(火车)下推迟削减个人所得税。

根据铁路法，所得税应该在2023年一月一日生效，但财政部建议推迟到2025年。

如果你有200万比索的应税收入，今年你要缴纳13万比索的所得税。阿蒂说，明年，你只需支付102,500比索，但国防部希望推迟这一进展哈罗德巴托洛梅，斯特罗助理服务

FUEL EXCISE TAX HIKE, CRYPTO

Despite the clamor for freezing fuel excise taxes, the DOF also looked at increasing excise taxes on petroleum products by P1.00 per liter for a minimum of 3 years, and imposing taxes on local coal, repealing Presidential Decree 972 or The Coal Development Act of 1976.

• Suspension of fuel excise taxes 'far fetched' says Senate tax research office

The DOF also planned to impose taxes on cryptocurrencies, but the STSRO admitted further studies are required to explore this possibility.

VAT EXPANSION

The DOF also proposed the expansion of the Value Added Tax base which will remove exemptions except for those in the education, agriculture, health, and raw foods sectors.

It also sought to reimpose the 60-month amortization period of input VAT on capital goods, which was only allowed until December 1, 2021 under the TRAIN Law.

The DOF also proposed the imposition of VAT on digital service providers, seeing it as a "new source of revenue," while anticipating the continued digitization of the economy. Filed as House Bill 7425 and Senate Resolution 410 under the 18th congress, Bartolome said he expects the proposal to be carried over to the 19th congress.

TAX ON MOTORCYCLES, PICKUP TRUCKS

Another carryover is the reform on motor vehicle users charge, which will impose a single and unitary rate based on gross vehicle rate of all motor vehicles, filed as House Bill 6136 in the previous Congress.

Connected to it is the repeal of the excise tax exemption of pick-ups and the imposition of taxes on motorcycles.

TAX ON MINING, CASINO ADMISSIONS, PLASTICS

House Bill 8400 and Senate Bill 1979 are also expected to be carried over by the new congress, which will open its first regular session on July 25. The proposals seek to establish a single and rationalized fiscal regime applicable to all mining agreements.

The DOF also proposed imposing mandatory charges on casino admissions with a flat rate of P3,500, a 5-percent tax on revenues from e-betting activities, taxing non-essential and semi-essential luxury goods, and single-use plastics at 20 pesos per kilogram upon removal from production facility or customs territory.

REAL PROPERTY TAXES

The DOF was aiming to implement by 2023 the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act, filed in the previous congress under Senate Bills 246, 519, and 894.

The measure seeks to adopt internationally accepted valuation standards, the establishment of a single valuation base for taxation through the adoption of a schedule of market values and the use of updated value benchmarks.

ALCOHOL AND CIGARETTES

For 2024, the DOF intended to implement a reform on health taxes to increase taxes on cigarettes, e-cigarettes, alcopops, and impose a unitary rate of P12 per liter volume on sweetened beverages.

CARBON TAX

By 2025, the DOF expected to impose taxes on carbon emissions, which is hoped to generate an additional P121.9 billion in annual revenues.

The STSRO said this proposal sees the additional tax passed on to consumers and must be reviewed accordingly.

As head of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he "will put taxpayers first," insofar as paying taxes is concerned by further simplifying the tax regime.

"[I want to make] sure that taxpaying is as easy as buying goods in Shopee, as easy as booking a flight or hotel. Our taxpayers get the gold standard treatment," he said.

He also said that he will focus on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), calling them the backbone of the economy.

The Philippines' sovereign debt ballooned in the last 2 years, as the Duterte administration spent heavily to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, while maintaining its ambitious infrastructure push.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno however has downplayed concerns over the country’s rising debt saying the economy can “outgrow” it.

• Philippines' sovereign debt hits P12.76 trillion in April
• Diokno confident of PH's ability to outgrow P12.68 trillion debt