President Aquino’s best parting gift before he steps down? Lower individual income taxes, according to lawmakers!
Senator Sonny Angara in particular, expressed high hopes that PNoy would address the lowering of individual income taxes in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) of his administration, according to local reports. who heads the Senate ways and means committee, authored a bill compressing the net taxable income brackets and lowering tax rates.
Just in February, PNoy approved the bill increasing tax exemption cap for bonuses, which exempts employees receiving 13th month pay, Christmas bonuses and other bonuses that do not exceed P82,000 from tax.Â
Local reports also say that the Philippines has one of the highest taxes in Southeast Asia, with the highest VAT at 12 percent, and the second highest income tax at 32 percent, just behind Thailand and Vietnam at 35 percent.Â
The senator also said that the individual income tax hasn’t changed since 1997, and that lowering the taxes would be good for the economy in order to encourage production and consumption of goods, according to reports. He also said that more Filipinos would be enticed to stay in the country instead of working abroad.
What do you think? Do you agree that PNoy should lower income taxes before his term ends??
