MANILA – Suspending the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law will result in shortage of resources to fund social services for the poor, an economic analyst said recently.
In a statement, Action for Economic Reforms (AER) fiscal coordinator Jo-Ann Diosana said suspending TRAIN will deny the poor social services such as Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs), free college education, and infrastructure support for agriculture and industrial development.
“What better way to finance these programs than by restructuring our outdated tax system, which is exactly the intent of the TRAIN law,” Diosana said.
Suspension of TRAIN 1 will also cause higher debt and potential downgrade of our credit rating, which will curb the country’s growth momentum, she said.
The AER urged lawmakers to focus on timely distribution of social services perks in the tax reform law intended to cushion higher prices of goods.
“The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) should step up its game to rapidly deliver the monthly P200 cash transfer to over 10 million households as mandated by the TRAIN law,” Diosana said.
Speaking to ANC Friday, Finance Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino said a total of 3.5 million households have already received UCTs, adding that the number will rise to 4.4 million by the end of the month.
He said the 10 million target could be achieved even before the year ends. (ABS-CBN News)
