MANILA: The proposed tax reform plan of the Department of Finance could be a “game changer” that will not just generate revenues but also raise enough funds to allow the government to address the backlog in physical and human capital investments, an independent policy think tank said Friday.
AER senior economist Jo-Ann Latuja-Diosana said at a tax forum that her organization is “very supportive” of the design of the DoF’s tax reform program as it focuses on how to make the current tax system more equitable, efficient, fair and progressive.
“While we are still working on the details, we see a lot of potential in this package and how it can really be a game changer for the country, AER senior economist Jo-Ann Latuja-Diosana said at a tax forum.
“Specially right now, we face a lot of constraints, specifically in infrastructure and investments in human capital, such as on health and education,” she added.
Diosana commended the DoF for presenting the package objective’s not just as revenue generation and upgrading of credit ratings but to generate funds. “That is really very important to us,” she said.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, on the other hand, said the DoF was moving swiftly to propose reforms in the country’s 20-year-old tax system so that the government could raise enough funds for accelerated spending on infrastructure, human capital and social protection programs.
The Finance department submitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate its proposed Tax Reform Roadmap for Acceleration and Inclusion Act on Sept. 26 in keeping with the administration’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda.
Dominguez said the DoF tax bill was completed after the department consulted with members of the Cabinet, legislators, former finance secretaries, prominent economists, stakeholder and business groups, and with various foreign embassies, global financial institutions and joint foreign chambers signifying their support for the tax reform proposal.
Among the organizations at the forum were the Tax Management Association of the Philippines, Framework Convention Alliance of the Philippines, Friedich Ebert Stiftung, Bantay Kita, Coalition of Services for the Elderly Inc., Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, Philippine Coalition on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Philippine College of Physicians Foundation, The Asia Foundation, Tobacco Free Kids, Universal Health Care Study Group, USAID-FPI, Woman Health Philippines, and the Freedom from Debt Coalition.
