Arya News - In his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr urged Congress to pass tax reform legislation that he said could benefit millions of workers and allow them to enjoy their hard-earned income.
MANILA – President Marcos has pressed lawmakers to recalibrate the country’s income tax system by raising the minimum annual income subject to tax to P350,000, from the current P250,000.
In his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, the President urged Congress to pass tax reform legislation that he said could benefit millions of workers and allow them to enjoy their hard-earned income.
He also floated plans to cut the income tax for other wage earners, but gave no additional details.
Marcos called on Congress as well to exempt small enterprises from corporate income tax, and broaden amnesty for unsettled taxes, including income, estate, donor’s, and value-added levies.
“To ensure the continued progress of the middle class amid the lingering effects of the crisis, we will pursue tax relief measures that promote growth, that generate revenue, and advance equity toward socioeconomic sustainability,” the President said in his speech.
Growing frustrations
The move was seen as a way to assuage the growing frustrations of the middle class—comprising 41.3 percent of the country’s almost 114 million population—which has not been a recipient of the billions of pesos in government financial assistance distributed to those affected by the rising cost of goods and fuel brought by the Middle East crisis.
The government currently exempts annual earnings below P250,000 and imposes a 20-percent levy above that, rising in step to cover incomes up to P8 million under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act implemented in 2018.
Amending the National Internal Revenue Code, specifically to increase the income tax exemption ceiling, was not among the 52 priority bills of the Marcos administration in the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council for the 20th Congress.