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Tuesday, January 21, 2003
Professionals get one-month VAT reprieve
MANILA -- The government has extended the professionals 10-percent value added tax (VAT) registration period from January 31 to Feb. 28 "to educate them on the implications of the tax measure and to help them in the registration."
But professionals who protested the VAT imposition on their incomes rejected the one-month reprieve given by the Department of Finance.
President Arroyo had ordered Finance Secretary Isidro Camacho to hold a dialogue with the protesters to explain the new tax system.
About 500 showbiz personalities, doctors, accountants, lawyers, athletes, and other professionals who do not have fixed incomes, trooped to the Senate Monday afternoon to press lawmakers to permanently defer the law.
But Senator Ralph Recto, chairman committee on Ways and Means stood his ground and said he would not be pressured into rushing the discussion of the 10-percent professionals VAT.
Senator Joker Arroyo, meanwhile, told the protesting professionals to pressure Camacho to indefinitely defer the imposition of the 10-percent VAT on professionals while the Senate is deliberating on the measure.
At the moment at least four Senators, Robert Jaworski, Vicente Sotto III, Robert Barbers, and Recto, filed separate resolutions either deferring or permanently exempting professionals from the 10-percent VAT.
Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. will file his own resolution Tuesday.
Under the tax law, professionals with an income reaching P550,000 annually would be taxed with the 10-percent VAT.
Many, if not most, of the artists do not seem to be aware of this since protestors kept including the "small" earners in the showbiz world who would not be affected.
Some 20-industry leaders went into the Senate and met with Senate President Franklin Drilon to air their grievances.
Among those who met with the Senators were "The King" Fernando Poe, Jr., Aga Muhlach, Richard Gomez, Philip Salvador, Eddie Garcia, German Moreno, Edu Manzano, Carlitos Sigueon Reyna, Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, Mitch Valdez, and Ilocos Rep. Imee Marcos.
The protestors peppered Recto with queries on why the Senate has not started deliberating on the issue of deferring or permanently exempting professionals from the imposition of the VAT, which they termed repressive and anti-poor.
But Recto reminded them that the bill is still pending before the House of Representatives for second reading and even blamed the professionals and artists for not asking him about it three months ago.
"Nobody asked me from your sector about this three months ago I would have acted on it like I always do on your requests," Recto said.
But Gomez, who acted as the group's spokesman, said the Senate should tackle their legitimate complaint now that the issue has been raised.
He said the imposition of the VAT was postponed five times, which should give a hint that the tax measure is not a welcome development.
Drilon assured the artists that the Senate would formally hear their complaints during the public hearing at the Ways and Means Committee, which Recto chairs.
But Recto reminded Drilon that Senate Rules bar him from scheduling any other public hearings apart from the budget, which has been scheduled this month until February.
Outside the Senate, protestors took turns in lambasting the imposition of the 10-percent VAT.
Work at the Senate stood still after Senate workers flocked the rally site and took the opportunity to see their favorite artists, having their photos taken with them.
The tax was required under a 1997 law but its application, particularly on actors, was deferred for five years by a subsequent law that expired on Dec. 31, 2002.
Had professionals paid the 10-percent VAT in 2001, the government would have collected an additional 100 billion pesos in revenue, which would have cut significantly the deficit of 136 billion pesos that year, the Department of Budget said. (Joshua Dancel/Sunnex Luzon) |
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