Tollway operators urged: Give discounts

MANILA, Philippines - Cagayan Rep. Juan Enrile yesterday urged tollway operators to implement a discount program that will benefit commuters and businesses that regularly pass through expressways to cushion the impact of the imposition of the value-added tax (VAT) on toll.

“While we understand the need for businesses to stay

viable and for government to collect taxes to back its spending, we also need to balance these needs with the interest of the consuming public which will be adversely affected by the hike in toll because of VAT,” Enrile said.

To address the concerns of commuters and businesses on higher toll, the lawmaker said tollway operators can come up with a program that gives regular users discounted rates.

For example, tollway operators can offer prepaid toll cards that can be used for one year and comes at a 10 percent discount and prepaid cards that can be used for six months carrying a lower five percent discount. On-site payments, meanwhile, will be charged the full amount.

“By re-engineering tollway payments and allowing long-term toll payments, we will not only make it more convenient for regular users of the expressways to pay toll, it can also be used to roll out a selective cumulative quantity discount program for users in this category,” Enrile said.

Through this, he said regular users get some reprieve from the price hike and tollway operators are able to collect the money in advance which can then be invested to recover the discounts it gave, and the government will still be able to collect its VAT payments.

Enrile also said tollway operators can first use input tax credits that they have accumulated to reduce the amount of VAT that they must pay the government to minimize the consumer impact of the collection of 12 percent VAT on toll.

A Supreme Court ruling promulgated on July 19 denied a petition questioning the imposition of VAT on tollway operations and lifted a temporary restraining order issued on Aug. 13, 2010 which earlier halted the collection of VAT on toll.