Monday, February 06, 2006
Expanded VAT serves as cornerstone of economic recovery
FINANCE Secretary Margarito Teves said the full implementation of the expanded Value-Added-Tax (VAT) law would serve as the cornerstone of the economic recovery program.
The expanded VAT law would enable the government to pay its debts and at the same time invest on social services and vital infrastructure to shore up investments and jobs.
"The success of Phase 1 expanded VAT implementation gave us more than enough reason to anticipate an even brighter future as we push the fiscal reform," Teves said.
The Philippines should be on its way to strengthening the economy, which has grappled with high budget deficits in the past few years.
The government has pursued its planned two-percent expanded VAT increase that took effect on February 1, which would wipe out our national deficit two years earlier or before 2008 instead of the original target of 2010.
Expanded VAT would also be used to build at least 2,000 classrooms, provide health insurance premiums to 3.1 million indigent families, reforest 9,190 hectares of forest lands, and build 1,012 kilometers of farm market roads.
While expanded VAT's full implementation has started, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila instructed all regional offices to install more price billboards in major wet markets nationwide to prevent abuses on prices by unscrupulous persons or traders.
Favila also instructed all regional offices to continuously monitor spiraling prices of prime necessities and penalize violators when necessary.
Meanwhile, in as far as the business sector is concerned, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Bienvenido Cariaga said the business community is not complaining on the increase on expanded VAT because this is the law.
"Hard is the law and its bitter, but we have to follow because it is the law," Cariaga said.
"What is important is to see our economy grow and the business community is here to assist on its take-off," he added.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (February 6, 2006 issue)
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