Key automotive sectors back Senate Bill 2517 on excise tax

A quadripartite manifesto calling for the immediate passage of Senate Bill 2517, otherwise known as the reform excise tax bill, was jointly signed Tuesday by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI), Automotive Industry Workers Alliance (AIWA), Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) and the Motor Vehicles Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP).

The joint declaration was signed by CAMPI president J. C. Alvarez, TMA president Elizabeth Lee, AIWA president Francisco P. Mero and MVPMAP president Feliciano L. Torres.

The new excise tax bill which is pending in the Senate aims to establish a value-based, equitable taxation system that will create a level playing field among all car assemblers, promote industry development and job creation, and generate increased revenue for the government through the expansion of the tax base.

In the four-sectoral communiqué, the parties expressed their full support for the confirmation of the excise tax bill and its approval into law by President Arroyo in accordance with the presidential Executive Order No. 156 and counterpart House Bill No. 5719.

Earlier, the 77,000 workers from the labor sector represented by AIWA had expressed fears that the bill once approved may cause a sharp decline in the sales of Asian Utility Vehicles (AUV) and may result in a mass layoff among AUV manufacturers.

After a series of dialogues with officials of the Department of Finance (DOF), the Board of Investments (BOI) and CAMPI, however, AIWA representing the workers was convinced the Senate Bill 2517 is the best alternative for all concerned and agreed to sign a manifesto supporting the immediate passage of the bill.

Alvarez said he is happy that all key sectors of the automotive industry, especially the labor sector, have come to an agreement in support of the bill. "We in CAMPI consider the labor sector as the most important entity in the automotive industry. Without the workers, the industry is nothing," Alvarez said.

"Senate bill 2517 will establish a stable, long-term and transparent automobile excise taxation that is equitable to all concerned and will fuel the growth of the local automotive industry," Alvarez said.

CAMPI is an organization representing 14 car manufacturers and assemblers who have invested more than P40 billion in manufacturing plants and who pay an average of P11 billion in taxes every year. CAMPI employs some 77,000 workers excluding those in the ancillary industries.