THE City Council of Bacolod passed a resolution on Wednesday, May 24, expressing vehement opposition to the increase of taxes on fuel, beverages and expansion of the value added tax (VAT) in the proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Package (CTRP).
Councilor Caesar Distrito, proponent of the resolution, said the CTRP aims to increase taxes imposed on commodities and also in the personal income of individuals.
Among the commodities included are fuel and beverages in which diesel will have an initial P3 tax per liter that will go up to P5 by 2019, and eventually P6 by 2020.
Kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas will also be taxed at P6 per liter.
The proposal also includes the imposition of the so-called “sugar taxes” on sugar sweetened beverages at P10 per liter.
The imposition of these taxes will surely affect the daily consumption of citizens given that with higher fuel prices, the prices of basic commodities will also increase, the resolution stated.
The present situation in the Philippines requires the National Government and lawmakers to come up with solutions that will ease the daily problem of the constituents but not to overburden them with excessive taxes, it added.
It is not also a guarantee that with higher taxes, developments will come rapidly because there are still gray issues that the national government has to solve, like the efficient and proper collection of taxes, before taking measures of increasing the amount to be imposed, the resolution further said. (CNC)