BACOLOD City – City councilors appealed to Congress to suspend the imposition of excise tax on petroleum products under the new tax law to cushion the impact of inflation.
According to the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), the rising costs of basic commodities are curtailing the purchasing power of Bacolodnons.
The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law lowered the personal income tax rates but raised the taxes on a range of goods and services, including excise tax on refined and manufactured oil and motor fuel, the SP said in a resolution authored by Councilor Caesar Distrito.
The TRAIN law, particularly its provision on higher excise tax on fuel, has been blamed for the inflation that has surged to 6.7 percent, said the SP.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising and, consequently, the purchasing power of currency is falling.
Councilors said the prices of fuel consistently increased over the past weeks as the Dubai crude price rose to $77.22.
The high inflation rate has “seriously affected all Filipinos from various levels and sectors,” said the city council.
While personal income tax rates have been adjusted, Filipinos – particularly Bacolodnons – “could not get more out of their hard-earned income due to the recent (price) increases,” it said.
The Senate and the House of Representatives must “take the necessary action by coming up with measures (to curb the inflation) or suspending the imposition of excise taxes, particularly on fuel,” the councilors said.
The SP pointed out that the TRAIN law provides that between 2018 to 2020, the scheduled increase in the excise tax on fuel shall be suspended when the average Dubai crude oil price based on Mean of Platts Singapore, for three months prior to the scheduled increase of the month, reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel./PN
