Philippine economy
Four years after Yolanda: Better lives for whom?
November 2, 2017
It has been four years since super-typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck several provinces in the Eastern Visayas region. After the huge influx of aid, it may be hard to believe but a huge percentage of the survivors still live in temporary shelters, are underserved in terms of social services and public utilities, and are either unemployed […]
Corporate Capture in Jeepney “Modernization”
October 17, 2017
By Glenis Balangue The Duterte administration has suspended classes on October 16-17, anticipating that the transport strike of jeepney drivers and operators to protest the phaseout of jeepneys may paralyze transportation nationwide. Yet, the government has been sweeping under the rug concerns not only of small drivers and operators but also of the riding public: […]
Hindi Totoong Maka-mahirap Ang TRAIN Ni Duterte
October 11, 2017
Ano ang TRAIN? Itinuturing na ‘urgent’ ng gubyernong Duterte ang Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion o TRAIN. Layunin ng TRAIN na makalikom ng P1.3 trillion para tustusan ang Build! Build! Build! o ang engrandeng programa sa imprastruktura ng pamahalaan. Itutulak daw nito ang pambansang pag-unlad at ang kapakanan ng mahihirap. Sa ilalim ng […]
Under TRAIN, taxes are cut on the rich (TRAIN Infographic #5)
September 28, 2017
TRAIN will make the rich richer – The net impact of the change in income taxes, expansion of VAT coverage, new oil excise taxes, and inflationary effect is that the highest-earning 40% of Filipino households, or 9.1 million households with some 40 million Filipinos, will have more money in their pockets after the tax reform. This […]
Will the poor benefit from paying higher taxes?
September 25, 2017
by Audrey de Jesus Among the hyped claims of the Department of Finance (DOF) about the government’s tax reform package is how taxes paid by the poor will go back to them in the form of infrastructure projects and social services. The reality however is that the taxes will go largely to big-ticket infrastructure projects […]
Real wage falling, higher taxes imminent (with TRAIN Infographic #4)
September 19, 2017
Though welcome, the recent wage hike in the National Capital Region (NCR) does not increase the minimum wage earners’ purchasing power. The real value of the minimum wage is even falling while the people face higher taxes under government’s proposed tax reforms, said the group. The NCR Regional Wage Board recently announced a Php21 wage hike, […]
IBON: DOF insistence on its tax package confirms anti-poor, pro-rich Dutertenomics
September 15, 2017
Research group IBON said that the Department of Finance’s (DOF) resistance to even minor changes in its proposed tax reform program confirms the anti-poor and pro-rich character of the Duterte administration’s economic policies. The Senate Ways and Means Committee proposed minor changes to shift some tax burden from the poor to the rich at its […]
Under TRAIN, the majority poor do not gain from income tax reforms (TRAIN Infographic #3)
September 11, 2017
The DOF’s estimates of personal income tax gains for the poorest Filipinos erroneously assumes that the poorest Filipinos currently pay income tax. This is untrue because the BIR’s records indicate only some 5.6 million taxpayers at present who are wholly from the highest income brackets. The poorest Filipinos do not pay income tax now so, contrary […]
Under TRAIN, the poor bear the greater burden (TRAIN Infographic #2)
September 7, 2017
Under the tax ‘reform’ package which is currently being deliberated by the Philippine Senate, the poorest 60 million Filipinos will pay Php47.0 billion in additional taxes next year which is 2.3% of their combined family income of some Php2.0 trillion. The highest income 40%, meanwhile, will pay Php47.6 billion which is only 0.8% of their total family […]
