Phoenix Petroleum looking at pre-paying taxes for 2017 – DOF

Fuel retailer Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has expressed interest in pre-paying taxes due for its gasoline and petroleum-based product sales in 2017, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Sunday.

In an emailed statement, the DOF said Phoenix expressed plans to voluntarily pre-pay taxes, in line with the government's planned Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

Under the CTRP, excise taxes on gasoline will be raised to P10.00 per liter from the current P4.35 per liter, and on diesel—which currently has no excise tax—to P6.00 per liter.

“We paved a pathway that allows us to help the government without having to raise prices for consumers, or risk the return on investment for our shareholders. This is a win-win situation, and the benefits will be felt by all,” Phoenix president and CEO Dennis Uy was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Department of Finance earlier said the government will use transfer programs to ensure that the poor will not be negatively affected by such reform.

"To mitigate the impact of higher oil prices on low-income and vulnerable households, we will use highly targeted transfer programs to ensure that the poorest 50 percent of the population is fully protected from the increase in oil excises, while the next 30 percent, which covers the commuting class, will be protected through indirect subsidies to public utility vehicles,” it said in October. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News