Press Release
November 22, 2017

ANGARA TRANSCRIPT OF AMBUSH INTERVIEW ON TRAIN AMENDMENTS (AFTER MORNING SESSION)

Q: Sir, pa-explain naman yung changes sa personal income tax.

Sen. Angara: Well, we went for the bigger exemption na, yung personal exemption. We will initially propose it in the third year, gradual, but because Sen. Recto proposed in the first year, we accepted his amendment. So, in full na yung P250,000.

Q: So, ano ang advantage nun over your first proposal?

SJEA: You pay less taxes. That's the advantage. You have a bigger exemption. Mas malaki yung maiuuwi.

Q: Sir, wala na yung dagdag na exemption pag meron kayong dependents? Tinanggal na yun.

SJEA: Wala na yun. That will be removed.

Q: So, ito yung P250,000 lower than that, zero na?

SJEA: Yes.

(Inaudible question)

SJEA: It's available to anybody who earns less than P250,000 unlike before na minimum wage earner exempt pero kumita man lang siya ng P10,000 over the minimum wage, yung buong halaga nagiging taxable. Ito, yung P250,000 mo, hindi pwedeng galawin ng gobyerno, kahit ano ang income mo.

Q: Sir yung corresponding tax din ng mga more than P250,000, bumaba rin ba? Lumiit?

SJEA: Yung more than P250,000? Well, lahat yung bumaba kasi lumaki yung exemption niya. Kasi dati, yung mga minimum wage, ayaw ma-promote. Kasi ang take home nila, liliit kahit lumaki yung sweldo nila. Kasi yung tax system was such that, if you're a minimum wage, exempt ka, pero lumampas ka dun, pati yung miminum wage binubuwisan. Iyon, inaayos na natin ngayon. Wala ng wage distortion.

Q: Tinaasan din po to 35 percent?

SJEA: Yes.

Q: Bakit po tinaasan?

SJEA: Maraming senators ang nag-move na maglagay ng higher tax bracket so, yun ay kompromiso na tinanggap natin.

Q: Sir, how will it affect the overall revenue target?

SJEA: Well, may positive revenue yun. It will add revenue, because - it's a higher rate and you will collect additional revenue up to 35%

Q: Sir, the original projection of P130 billion yata?

SJEA: We probably exceeded actually.

Q: How much?

SJEA: Baka P140B or P150B ganun. Kasi meron tayong idinagdag.

Q: For the next year alone yan, sir? For 2018 yang 140B?

SJEA: Yes

Q: Sir, itong pag-raise ng personal income tax exemption, ano ang magiging effect nito sa other taxes that will be imposed like yung sa petroleum.

SJEA: Well petroleum is unchanged in our amendments so far, although we don't know, baka may mag-propose na senador later on to go back to the DOF version. It's possible.

Q: Sir, mga ilang empleyado ang makikinabang dito? Itong P250,000 na isang bagsak?

SJEA: That's 99 percent of our taxpayers. Siguro mga at least 5-6 million families.

(inaudible question)

SJEA: Ang target originally was P130B I think of the DOF. They said, Sec. Dominguez will be happy with the P130B. It's on record that he's saying that. I think we can meet yung expectations naman nila rito.

(inaudible question)

SJEA: Hindi natin dinagdagan yung oil. In fact, yung sugar binaba rin natin, yung oil ibinaba natin. Naghanap tayo ng ibang taxes like yung capital gains taxes na yung mga mayayaman ang magbabayad.

Q: Sir, yung sinasabi ni Sen. Ping Lacson na ibababa yung VAT from 12 to 10 percent?

SJEA: Ayaw ng DOF.

Q: Bakit sir?

SJEA: Because the revenue--kasi ang purpose nga nito is to give the income tax exemption and to raise revenue for infra. So, pag ibinaba mo sa 10 percent, mawawalan ka ng infra. Mawawalan ng panggastos mo.

Q: Kahit i-lift yung tax exemptions?

SJEA: We're doing that. Actually, although kahit hindi natin ma-accept yung amendment to lower the rate from 12 to 10, we're providing more revenue by lifting the tax exemptions on certain sectors.

Q: Like what sir yung mga mali-lift?

SJEA: yung mga special laws. Maraming special laws kasi na ganun.

Q: Anong grupo sir, yung pinaka-maaapektuhan?

SJEA: Wala naman. Maliliit sila, pero marami. So we will just add it up.

Q: Yung mga self-employed sir, professionals, 150?

SJEA: 250. Yung 250 - yung kagandahan ng 250 - kasi dati pag sinabing minimum wage ka, kelangan employee ka. So kung professional ka, wala kang minimum wage level. So ngayon, yung minimum wage na P250,000, or the minimum exemption of 250, applies whether you're self-employed, nagtratrabaho ka para sa sarili mo.

Q: SMEs covered din?

SJEA: Yes. Self-employed professionals yan. So yan yung mga fishball vendors, may sari-sari store ka, o trader ka sa Divisoria, nagba-buy and sell ka. Yun ang mga affected dyan kasi below the VAT threshold. So below P3M income a year.So yung idea nun, to give them the 8 percent option, para lumaki sila. Mas mababa ang ibinabayad nilang tax, pwede silang lumaki.

Q: Sir, from 250,000 exemption natin ngayon ang existing ay how much nga po?

SJEA: It's 250 now. But the exemption is the minimum wage now. Minimum wage is sa Metro Manila P500 something a day.

Q: Today sir matatapos?

SJEA: I don't know. I don't know how long the debates will take with the - yung ibang senators.

Q: May mga big amendments pa ba?

SJEA: Well, marami kasing amendments na lumalaban, e. May amendments sa sugar, for example. Gustong dalhin sa sugar content. Yung iba, per volume. Tapos yung rates, mga naglalaban. So doon, kailangan nating mag-decide. Although ang decision ko nga, is subject to the approval of the body. So, kung ayaw nila yung desisyon ko, pwede nilang baliktarin.

Q: Pero sir target nyo, within today until tonight po matatpos?

SJEA: Ang ideal is today matapos yung amendments then tomorrow we can have second or third reading but you know, alam nyo naman hindi exact science ito, e. We cannot determine.

Q: Yung sa sin tax? Yung sa cigarette...

SJEA: I think Sen. Pacquiao and Sen. JV are going to move for its inclusion kasi nag-file sila ng bills. The problem there is, yung bills na yun, kaka-refer lang sa komite natin yesterday, so, we're not able to have hearings. So sa akin, medyo at the same time, yung PhilHealth collections might be affected. So, sa akin why don't we wait till we see what the 2017 collections are from tobacco. Kasi in 2015, we collected a hundred billion, in 2016 we collected 96 billion. Kumbaga bumagsak na siya. E ang argument nina Sen. Pacquiao and Sen. JV, is that pag itinaas natin ang tax ng cigarette, pag umakyat tayo ng P60 makaka-raise tayo ng additional 60 billion. We have to study that. The experts have to study that.

Q: Sir, hindi na siya pwedeng ihabol dito?

SJEA: Hindi. Ang DOF naman, ang sabi nila, they will put it in the next packages.

Q: Sir, yung P140B na mami-meet ninyo, saan manggagaling yung bulk ng kikitain?

SJEA: Well, there's the capital gains taxes, there is a new proposal for a stamp tax rate or doc stamps, idod-double lang yun. And usually, nasa transaksyon yun, e. Sa kontrata, pag nag-sign ka ng contracts of lease o pag nag-upa ka. So, usually ang mga nagbabayad nyan, yung mga may kaya. So we shifted the burden from the mass to those who can shoulder the burden of the taxes.

Q: Yung additional revenue, allocated naman sa ano po..

SJEA: Andun pa rin yung earmarking. At maraming senador ang nagbigay din ng amendments on earmarking and most of them, we can accept.

Q: Like...

SJEA: Like Sen. Poe wants it allotted to infrastructure and to child protection, I think Sen. Ralph - infra. Yun. We can accept those things.

Q: Yung sa VAT, yung 12 na magiging 10, wala na talaga siyang pag-asa sir dahil ayaw ng DOF?

SJEA: No, I am not saying na walang pag-asa but, I am saying on my part, we are not going to accept it because it's going to be a revenue eroding. But, on the part naman of the body, they can overturn it.

Q: Sir, yung exemptions sa seniors, PWDs, cooperatives...

SJEA: Senior citizens will stay, cooperatives will stay, except for electrical cooperatives, PWDs will stay, sa housing, may kompromiso. It's not housing units worth P3.2M which is the current - magiging P2M na lang outside Metro Manila.

Q: P2M and below na lang ang exempt?

SJEA: Yes. Housing units P2M and below will be VAT-free as long as they're outside Metro Manila.

Q; Subject for...

SJEA: Subject to approval. Lahat ng sinasabi ko sa inyo, subject to approval yan, unless na-approve na.

Q: Sa adjustments sa personal income tax, do you expect na mas smooth sailing yung bicam? Mas madali ninyong mare-reconcile?

SJEA: Yes, if we move closer in that respect - nag-move tayo, lumapit tayo sa version ng Kamara on the aspect.

News Latest News Feed