Bam Aquino: 3-month excise tax suspension not enough

Suspending the fuel excise tax increase for merely three months in 2019 is not sufficient enough to address the country’ soaring inflation, Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said on Thursday.

The Duterte administration intends to postpone the scheduled increase in fuel excise taxes under the tax reform law, but it would only be for the first three months of 2019.

“‘Yung tatlong buwan na ‘yan ay hindi mararamdaman ng taumbayan, ‘yung pagpapakit lang ng produkto sa shelf e ilang buwan na agad. Three months is really too short,” Aquino said during the weekly Kapihan sa Senado forum.

He said the government must totally suspend the implementation of excise taxes and roll back the first round of increases implemented in January 2018.

“Ang hinahanap ay tuluyang suspension at lahat ng nadagdag ngayong 2018 na buwis ay ma-roll back, that is what we are looking at. Sana hindi na makita ang increase next year na P2 at  increase this year na P2.65 ay ma-roll back, huwag nang kolektahin ng gobyerno,” he said.

“That would be one of the best gifts we can give the people,” he added.

GMA News Online asked other other senators for their position on this matter, but they have yet to reply as of this posting.

Since May, Aquino has been pushing for suspending and rolling back the excise tax increase on fuel under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law through his Senate Bill No. 1798 or the Bawas Presyo sa Petrolyo Bill.

The measure aims to suspend the collection of excise tax on fuel once the inflation rate breaches the annual inflation target over a three-month period.

The  bill also seeks to roll back the excise tax on petroleum products to December 31, 2017 levels or before the TRAIN law took effect.

Aquino also joined other opposition senators—Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senators Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros, Antonio Trillanes IV, and Leila de Lima —in filing Senate Joint Resolution No. 15 seeking to suspend the excise tax under the TRAIN law and mandate the rollback of levy on fuel to December 31, 2017 rates.

On Wednesday, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua told the Senate committee on economic affairs that President Rodrigo Duterte will announce in the coming weeks that the administration has suspend fuel excise tax increase in 2019 but only be for three months. 

“The secretary (Carlos Dominguez) has opined that if the suspension is based on three months, then the resumption could probably be based on a three-month cycle, but that is his opinion and we are still reviewing and discussing it,” he said.

“At the very least, three months ... and we will base that on the  prevailing oil price,” he added. — RSJ/VDS, GMA News