OFWs oppose proposed 12% VAT on remittances

A proposal to increase the value-added tax (VAT) on the service fee of money remittance centers has met with strong opposition from OFWs and even some party-list lawmakers, who vowed to block it in Congress.
"Ang pinapasok nila (OFWs), almost a trillion [pesos] a year. And yet papatungan mo pa 'yan ng tax. So parang dagdag pasanin na 'yan at parang lahat na lang, gusto mong patungan ng tax," said Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate on House Bill 4774, in a report by GMA News' Tina Panganiban-Perez on "24 Oras" on Monday.
"Lalaban natin ito," he added.
Zarate said HB 4774, which seeks to increase the VAT on service fee of money remittance centers from 10 percent to 12 percent, will affect not only OFW remittances, but also domestic money transfers.
"Pag natuloy 'yan, lahat ng nagpapadala kahit na domestic, [maaapektuhan]. Magpadala ka, halimbawa from Davao to Palawan, or from Davao to Manila, subject na siya sa VAT," he said.
Eman Villanueva, an OFW based in Hong Kong, said he expects remittance centers to pass the additional to burden to OFWs instead of shouldering the costs themselves.
"Kapag in-adjust yung taxes, whether yan ay doon lang sa tinatawag na service fee ng mga remittance company, tataas din yung sinisigil nila sa OFWs," he said.
"Ito namang mga businesses na 'to, hindi naman nila ia-absorb yung mga dagdag [o] increase ng cost because of the taxation. Ipapasa din yan sa consumer," he added.
For his part, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. urged Congress to consider taxing individuals with greater incomes instead of OFWs.
"Those who have greater ability to pay and those who have greater income should have a bigger tax burden," he said.
"Pero ito, sa mga forum ng Department of Finance especially pag nag-iimbita sila, hindi naman ito nadi-discuss. Mukhang tinatago nila itong expansion of the value added tax," Garbin added.
In a statement, DOF spokesperson Asec. Paola Alvarez clarified the service of remittance centers will only be taxed and not the actual amount.
"The VAT is on service, not the remittance amount. For instance, if sending 4,000 pesos, the money transfer center charges 100 pesos, and the VAT is 12 pesos, or only 0.3% of the remittance amount," Alvarez said.
Alvarez said the bill targets businesses such as pawnshops, which are initially not registered as remittance centers.
"We are cleaning up the VAT system to reduce leakages and unfair treatment. In the past, pawnshops are just pawning and don't transfer money, but now they do, so we have to consider this new business like any other service provider," she said. —Joseph Tristan Roxas/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more