(Eagle News) — Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate has filed a bill which he said “will repeal the anti-poor and anti-people provisions” of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.
In a statement, Zarate said House Bill 7653 will remove the excise tax added to sugar-sweetened beverages.
He said HB 7653 will also restore the Value Added tax exemption of low-cost housing, among others.
“We hope that this bill will be fast-tracked by Congress because the economic suffering being endured by our countrymen because of the TRAIN law is very real and should be addressed the soonest time possible,” Zarate said.
Earlier, Senator Bam Aquino called for the suspension of the TRAIN law amid his concern over rising prices which he attributed to the first package of the government’s tax reform program.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, for his part, said he was looking at the possibility of increasing the amount of money given to the poorest of the poor under the government’s cash transfer program.
He said this was to enable them to cope with higher prices.