Palace warns Noynoy on tax promises

MANILA, Philippines - Presidential aspirant Sen. Benigno Aquino III’s promise not to impose new taxes sounds nice but could be similar to what a former American president pledged and reneged after election, a Malacañang spokesman said yesterday.

Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said in 1988, then US vice president George H.W. Bush gave his now infamous “read my lips, no new taxes” campaign promise, which propelled him to victory as the country’s 41st president.

Last Thursday, Aquino made the same promise before members of the Makati Business Club, saying that he would refrain from raising taxes or imposing new taxes if elected president.

Olivar was quick to point out that the same promise was made and broken by former President Bush not long after he assumed office.

“When you promise no new taxes, given our deficit issues, then you may risk doing what happened to the elder George Bush when he made the same promise during his campaign, then I think less than a year later, he raised taxes,” he said.

He pointed out that the pressure of a widening budget deficit was too much for Mr. Bush to stand by his word.

“The pressure of the deficit during his time was very heavy and the same goes for our current situation. So it would be difficult to make such a promise when it comes to the issues of deficits and taxes,” Olivar said.

He said the statements from Aquino could easily be considered as pandering as he was making a promise before an audience that obviously favored such a scenario.                                                – Marvin Sy