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Sunday, September 05, 2004
Don't tax churches: Arroyo
MANILA -- President Arroyo shot down proposals Saturday to tax churches and religious groups, as the government sought ways to deal with a debt crisis.
Several politicians have floated the idea of taxing the Church to raise state revenues to a level that would enable Manila to repay debts of 3.36 trillion pesos as well as enjoy a budget surplus.
"The Church is the guardian of the spiritual welfare of the Filipino people and charitable work is part of its mission to uplift the moral and spiritual foundations of our society," Arroyo said in a written statement.
"This should be placed beyond the pale of monetary matters and we do not agree to taxing the Church."
Imposing taxes on religious groups would require amendments to the 1987 constitution, which exempts churches and religious groups from taxation in regard to their religious, charitable and educational activities.
Manila legislator Bienvenido Abante proposed the tax during a television talk show earlier this week, though there is no bill filed in Congress.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales told reporters on Friday that activities and properties of the Church not used for religious purposes should be taxed.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said the proposal was "irrational" because the Church was a non-profit organization.
He said church entities already paid taxes when they were involved in activities not covered by exemptions.
"Taxing baptisms, marriage, et cetera is irrational. How do you tax that?" he said.
The prelate said that religion tax need not be separate from what the people are already paying but could be a percentage taken from the current taxes and given back to the taxpayer's religious organization.
"It's different from taxing religion. Religion tax is what you give to government," Rosales said.
"Is this pork barrel? No, it's not...Religion tax is better because it goes back to your religion and will be used for development. What the Muslims pay will go back to the Muslims."
Economists have warned Manila risked an Argentina-style debt default and political and economic chaos within three years.
Arroyo said the government already had a "detailed and concrete action plan on how the fiscal crisis could effectively be averted."
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel disapproves on the fund-raising move headed by House Speaker Jose de Venecia and the Arroyo administration.
According to Pimentel the campaign is not a solution to the worsening fiscal crisis of the country.
"We're sending a bad message to the world and to our countrymen that the problem is beyond our control, that we really have a problem that we can't solve," Pimentel stressed.
Pimentel said the right step is to trim the budget and instill fiscal prudence on the spending habits of government.
He said the minority would also push for a line-item budgeting when formal deliberations about the proposed 2005 budget start.
He added that a law should be passed to make it mandatory for 'cash cows' like Pagcor and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to deposit their funds with the national treasury.
The law must also provide that funds could only be moved upon the consent of Congress, he added.
De Venecia has launched a fund-raising campaign outside and inside Congress to help government raise cash to continue funding its projects and programs.
De Venecia was said to have raised some P350 million worth of pledges from government officials and businessmen. (Sunnex/AFP>
(September 5, 2004 issue)
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