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Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Arroyo pushes tax amnesty proposal
* Palace hopes credit rating firms will not downgrade RP
MALACAÑANG said the tax amnesty bill has been placed in the backburner due to stiff opposition although President Arroyo is still pushing for its passage.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the Palace will push through first with the measures that could easily be passed
"We're putting that probably in the second layer considering the opposition on some quarters to that particular proposal. But it's still in the backburner," Bunye said.
In Malacañang's proposed tax amnesty bill, delinquent individual and corporate taxpayers would be granted amnesty through the payment of either three percent of taxable income or a fixed rate scheme. It also requires every taxpayer of a given income threshold to file a Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL).
Government expects around P10 billion from the amnesty program. The bill seeks to generate immediate revenues and broaden the tax base.
However, some sectors have opposed it because it allegedly encourages delinquency and evasion.
Bunye said Congress is working overtime to pass the needed bills on sin tax, franchise tax on telecommunications and increase in Value-Added Tax (VAT) rates.
He said the dialogue between President Arroyo and telecommunications executives over the weekend was "productive," dismissing reports that Arroyo failed to convince the telecom firms to agree to the tax.
He could not say how productive the dialogue was except that it was meant to ensure "equitable compliance." He said it is up to Congress to try to find a solution to the objections of the telecom sector.
"The push for revenue measures is unrelenting, backed up by dialogues with all affected sectors designed to further improve our proposed tax measures and to ensure equitable compliance. All sectors will share the burden," he said.
He also said the tax reform package will not be compromised.
Bunye said Malacañang is hoping that credit rating agencies Fitch and Moody's Investor Service, which are conducting a review of the country's credit worthiness, would take note of Congress's efforts to pass at least four of eight tax bills endorsed by the Arroyo administration.
"We hope that they will consider the efforts being exerted by the executive and the legislature and we hope that they would consider the other favorable situations which are of recent developments and we are looking forward to a favorable decision by the rating agencies," he said. (JMR)
(December 7, 2004 issue)
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