Income tax exemption, pinatataasan

ISINUSULONG ng Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) ang panukalang taasan ang income tax exemption upang masakop ang mga nasa lower middle-income.
Nakapaloob ito sa House Bill No. 8860, o
Patas na Ambag sa Tax para sa Angat-Sahod (PATAS) Act.
Bukod sa pagtaas sa income tax exemption upang masakop ang mga lower middle-income earners ay magpapataw naman ng buwis sa mga bilyonaryo at malaking kita ng oil at power companies.
“For far too long, the middle class has been squeezed dry and taken for granted by our tax system: pinipiga ang karaniwang manggagawa na bihirang makinabang sa ayuda, habang ang tunay na malalaki ang kinikita ay nakakalusot. This PATAS Bill seeks to end that injustice by raising the income tax exemption to ₱600,000 annually and increasing the tax-exempt ceiling for 13th month pay and other benefits. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng kumikita ng ₱50,000 pababa kada buwan ay hindi na bubuwisan at ang bawat pisong pinaghirapan sa overtime, puyatan, at trabaho sa holiday ay buo nang maiuuwi sa pamilya. Ito ang tunay na patas: bawas buwis sa naghihirap na ordinaryong Pilipino habang ang sobrang yaman at sobrang pinagkitaan ang dapat mas buwisan,” ayon kay TUCP Party-list Representative at House Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza.

Upang mapunan ang potential na revenue losses sa gobyerno, nakapaloob sa panukalang PATAS Act ang Solidarity Wealth Tax sa mga bilyonaryong Pilipino at magpataw ng Windfall Profits Tax sa mga korporasyon na kumikita ng sobrang laki, partikular na sa oil at electricity industries.

“The wealthiest and those who profit the most are in the strongest position to give more, and it is high time they do. By imposing a modest yet progressive 1–3% tax on Filipino billionaires, we can already generate close to half a trillion pesos in additional revenues annually. This is further strengthened by a 15–35% windfall profits tax, especially on the major players in the oil and electricity sectors that profit outrageously while the public pays the price and everyone else tightens their belts. Wakasan na natin ang kawalang-katarungan: the Philippines cannot claim to be on the path to upper middle-income status while our minimum wage earners remain overworked and underpaid, and its middle class overtaxed yet underserved,” pahayag ni Mendoza. (Vina de Guzman)