Tom hits IBP on calls for eVAT Law review

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has again hit the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Cebu City chapter over its move to ask Congress for an intensive review of the Expanded Value Added Tax Law.

"You know if people like that were running our country today, we'll go bankrupt so fast… Who would you believe, the management investors or the IBP?" Osmeña told reporters in a news conference yesterday.

The mayor said that the peso became stronger and continues to get stronger, and the stock market went up after the Supreme Court last week upheld the constitutionality of the eVAT and subsequently rejected the appeal filed by opposition legislators.

This as investment managers saw stability in our economy, according to the mayor.

He further said the issue now is how wisely the government is going to spend the eVAT revenues, especially that people are suspicious that crooks in government will just pocket the money.

But he pointed out that if the government is going to spend the money for the benefit of the people, then the eVAT will have a very good effect, even for the poor.

"Because if you analyze the eVAT, the poor will contribute the eVAT but the rich will contribute a lot more because the rich consumes a lot more than the poor. The rich don't pay any taxes, uy. This eVAT is the one that will make the rich people pay," Osmeña explained.

He said eVAT is a good measure to collect tax from the rich people because it is based on consumption and not on income.

Further, he emphasized the need for the government to have a balanced budget; otherwise, it will incur a very big deficit and the peso will crumble.

"Because to offset that, the government would just have to print bills and that's when the value of our peso will really go down," he said.

On the other hand, the mayor said if the government would have revenues to support its deficit, such as those that would be collected from the eVAT, then it would keep the peso stable so the prices of prime commodities would remain the same as well.

Late last week, the IBP-Cebu City board adopted a resolution calling on Congress to take a closer look on the eVAT Law so amendments could be possibly made to cushion its impact on the people, it being a burden to the poor.