SEN. Imee Marcos moved Thursday to grant President Duterte special power to suspend or cut back the value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products during a state of calamity or national emergency, citing the lingering Covid-19 contagion.
Senate Bill 2320, Marcos’s remedial legislation, intends to amend the Internal Revenue Code to give the President
special power within one year, or for the duration of a calamity besetting the country.
Marcos pointed out that when there is a reduction or suspension of the 12-percent VAT, it triggers downward adjustments in prices of petroleum products and basic commodities.
She stressed the need to adopt mitigating measures for the ranks of unemployed workers seen to grow in number as more businesses close shops with the very tentative quarantine status of many economic hubs, especially with current concerns of a Delta variant-driven spike in Covid cases.
As affected sectors are unable to quickly bounce back, fuel price hikes compound the situation, pushing up costs of basic commodities, among others.
The senator recalled, for instance, that since January, the price of gasoline per liter has increased by P13, diesel at P10 and kerosene at P9.
In turn, she suggests that in order to stabilize government’s financial position, the excise tax on petroleum products must be kept.