Post by Forum Moderator / Kaskasero on Jul 10, 2008 14:56:17 GMT 8
GMA to meet, explain oil situation to bishops
By : Angelo S. Samonte | Manila Times
10 July 2008 | 12:10 AM
President Gloria Arroyo will meet with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to discuss the clergy’s proposal to review the Oil Deregulation Law and to lift the value-added tax on oil.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the meeting will have taken place Wednesday evening or will be held today. Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu will lead the bishops’ delegation.
President Arroyo will bring along her economic team to the meeting to explain to the bishops government measures that address economic conditions at present, Ermita added.
“We will explain our subsidy windfall, and the reason why we don’t want to lift the VAT [value-added tax] on oil. We want them [bishops] to understand that subsidies from VAT help the poor and it is not reasonable to remove it at this time,” he said.
Ermita added that the administration hopes that the bishops will understand the government’s position on the tax on oil.
The Department of Finance said it is still reasonable to maintain the VAT on oil instead of removing it despite increases in oil prices.
“Based on our studies, the poor have not been affected much by the VAT on oil because they primarily buy basic necessities such as rice and food products, which are VAT-free,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said.
If the government were to remove VAT imposed on oil, he added, it would actually favor the rich, who use more fuel.
Beltran said lowering the VAT on oil will lead to problems in tax administration.
Businessmen, he added, will just transfer tax payments to tax brackets where tax rates are much lower, depriving the government of its due revenues.
Beltran said reducing the tax on oil would also mean adjusting budgets of projects that had received allocations for the year.
By : Angelo S. Samonte | Manila Times
10 July 2008 | 12:10 AM
President Gloria Arroyo will meet with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to discuss the clergy’s proposal to review the Oil Deregulation Law and to lift the value-added tax on oil.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the meeting will have taken place Wednesday evening or will be held today. Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu will lead the bishops’ delegation.
President Arroyo will bring along her economic team to the meeting to explain to the bishops government measures that address economic conditions at present, Ermita added.
“We will explain our subsidy windfall, and the reason why we don’t want to lift the VAT [value-added tax] on oil. We want them [bishops] to understand that subsidies from VAT help the poor and it is not reasonable to remove it at this time,” he said.
Ermita added that the administration hopes that the bishops will understand the government’s position on the tax on oil.
The Department of Finance said it is still reasonable to maintain the VAT on oil instead of removing it despite increases in oil prices.
“Based on our studies, the poor have not been affected much by the VAT on oil because they primarily buy basic necessities such as rice and food products, which are VAT-free,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said.
If the government were to remove VAT imposed on oil, he added, it would actually favor the rich, who use more fuel.
Beltran said lowering the VAT on oil will lead to problems in tax administration.
Businessmen, he added, will just transfer tax payments to tax brackets where tax rates are much lower, depriving the government of its due revenues.
Beltran said reducing the tax on oil would also mean adjusting budgets of projects that had received allocations for the year.