Photo Courtesy of News5
ACT Teachers Party-List Representative Antonio Tinio blasted the implementation of the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), calling it a blatant attack on the savings and hard-earned income of ordinary Filipinos while letting the wealthy off the hook.
“Kapag kumita ka, gumastos ka, nagbenta ka, at ngayon pati nag-impok ka, lahat bubuwisan ka ng gobyerno. Tapos sasabihin, kulang sa financial literacy ang Pilipino. Kaya naman bumoto ng NO sa CMEPA ang Makabayan bloc nung sinalang ito sa Kongreso,” Tinio declared.
Tinio pointed out that starting July 1, all interest from peso and dollar savings and time deposits are now subject to a 20% final withholding tax, regardless of the length or amount of the deposit—including what used to be tax-exempt long-term savings.
“This is a predatory taxation scheme that punishes working and middle-class Filipinos who are simply trying to save for their families’ future,” Tinio said. “Instead of giving incentives to those with modest savings, the government targets them while billionaires and big corporations continue to enjoy tax breaks and loopholes.”
“Ang tunay na problema ay hindi ang financial literacy ng mga Pilipino, kundi ang kawalan ng financial accountability at malasakit ng gobyerno sa mga mahihirap at manggagawa,” Tinio added.
Tinio stressed that if the Marcos administration truly wants an equitable tax policy, it should junk CMEPA and the CREATE Law, and support a billionaire wealth tax instead.
The CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) Act lowered corporate income tax rates in the Philippines. Specifically, the regular corporate income tax (RCIT) rate for domestic and resident foreign corporations was reduced from 30% to 25%. Additionally, a lower rate of 20% was introduced for domestic corporations with net taxable income not exceeding PHP 5 million and total assets not exceeding PHP 100 million. The rich were really pampered with this law,” he added
“If this administration is serious about equity, it should tax the billionaires, not the savings of ordinary citizens. Tax the billionaires, not the poor!” Tinio insisted.
“Imposing a wealth tax on the top 1% can yield billions for social services, education, and health, directly benefitting the majority of Filipinos living in poverty.”
Tinio said said that they will refile the Super-Rich Tax or a measure to pass a 3% wealth tax on billionaires, which could generate at least P98 billion—enough to provide cash subsidies for millions of poor families.
“Habang mahigit 20 milyon na ang bilang ng mahihirap na Pilipino, nananatiling hindi pinapansin ng gobyerno ang mga bilyonaryo na tunay na may kapasidad na mag-ambag ng pondo para sa bayan. Panahon na para buwisan ang bilyonaryo, hindi ang karaniwang Pilipino!” Tinio concluded.
(“While 20 million Filipinos are poor, the government refuses to tax the billionaires who have the real capacity to contribute funds to the nation. It’s time to tax the billionaires, not ordinary Filipinos!”)#
