MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel Roxas II reiterated his call for the immediate passage of the bill seeking to exempt minimum wage earners from paying income taxes.
Roxas said he would push for the enactment of the proposal upon the resumption of session late this month in the face of mounting socioeconomic pressures.
Roxas agreed with the calls of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) to pass the bill as the Labor Day gift to workers.
“It takes political will on the part of the administration to have this bill passed,” Roxas said.
He said another Labor Day celebration would come but workers do not see any relief coming from the administration.
Roxas said a tax break to minimum wage earners is imperative in the light of increasing food and fuel prices.
“It will only take a determined push from the President to get the ball rolling in the administration-dominated House (of Representatives),” he said.
Roxas earlier filed Senate Bill 103 seeking to exempt from income tax all minimum wage earners and all government employees from Salary Grades 1 to 3.
The Senate committee on ways and means has tackled Roxas’ proposal but lacked a counterpart bill from the House, which is necessary for plenary debates on the issue.
The TUCP noted the bill would exempt about half a million workers from paying income taxes.
Although the finance department has estimated a revenue impact of P951 million, Roxas said this would be outweighed by the increased spending and savings among minimum wage earners.
Roxas is also pushing for the suspension of the 12 percent expanded value added tax (VAT) on oil and other petroleum products as a relief from high energy prices.