Opposition lawmakers, who dubbed themselves the “Legitimate 8,” have expressed fears of additional tax burden to minimum wage earners over the Duterte administration’s plan to increase the excise tax on oil products. At the end of the day, these small wage earners won’t benefit from lowered income tax rates,” Lagman told reporters. According to Dominguez, a higher excise tax on oil would mean that the P4.35 excise tax on fuel per liter—a rate dating back to 1997—will be pegged at P5.65 per liter. Of the P173 billion, P139 billion will be lost to lowered individual income tax while P34.8 billion in government revenues will be foregone because of decreased corporate income tax. Broadened tax base means more tax collection, and more tax collection is additional VAT burden for the majority of our people,” Lagman said.

Source: Manila Times August 23, 2016 13:52 UTC