QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — The head of the ways and means committee in the Senate said they would carefully examine the proposal of the Department of Finance to lift value-added tax (VAT) exemptions on socialized and low-cost housing, noting that doing so could exacerbate the existing “housing backlog.”
“Medyo tingin ko baka dapat pag-isipin mabuti ng ating DOF at ating mga mambabatas kung kailangan lagyan ng VAT yung socialized and low-cost housing dahil as it is kulang na kulang yung gumagawa nyan..,” Senator Sonny Angara said in a hearing on the VAT provisions of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Bill that was passed recently by the Lower House.
Angara noted that if taxes were imposed on such, more Filipinos will not be able to afford houses.
Apart from the low-income earners, he said many of those who availed of these structures were Overseas Filipino Workers.
“Kasi malala na nga yung sitwasyon, tapos lalagyan pa natin ng buwis, eh di lalala pa lalo yung sitwasyon. Dadami yung Pilipino na walang bahay kasi taon taon may dumadagdag na population. Yun ang hirap dun,” Angara said.
He said if the country’s population growth was pegged at 2%, given 100 million Filipinos, there would be 200,000 Filipinos every year.
“Yun ang problema, pangangailangan din ng pabahay yun,” he said.
“Sa tingin ko ngayon dadaan sa butas ng karayom yun dahil medyo malala yung sitwasyon dito sa pabahay. Seryosong problema yan,” he added.
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