Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III underscored the importance of public diplomacy to win popular support for the Duterte administration’s proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) by convincing ordinary Filipinos that an overhaul of the outdated tax is the “key link” to “redeeming the country’s future.”
“We should be able to convince our people of the long-term benefits of renovating the architecture of our country’s revenue system,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said the popular proposals in the CTRP’s first package, such as the significant cuts in personal income tax (PIT) rates and estate taxes are “fairly easy to sell” to the public, but they should also be educated on the underlying reasons behind these reforms.
The finance head said that through tax reforms the country would have tax rate alignmnent with the rest of the region, which will in turn make the country a magnet for investments. He added that it will also increase the purchasing power of compensation earners to further boost economic productivity.
Dominguez said the public needs to know why the government is reforming the system of collecting taxes, such as in the VAT.
“If we are able to close the loopholes, it should be possible in the future to contemplate lowering the VAT rate itself,” Dominguez said.
(Mark Nituma with reports from Philippine News Agency. Photo credit: FAQ.ph)
