Super-Rich Tax Bill Revived

According to Oxfam, a global nonprofit, the wealth tax can greatly increase the tax haul of the Philippines as the numerous millionaires in the country exposed the inequality present in the country.

Executive Director of Oxfam Pilipinas, Erika Geronima, has stated that the number of millionaires in the country has increased by 43.5% since 2021.

“Inequality experienced in the Philippines is starker with the nine richest Filipinos having more wealth than the bottom half (55 million) of the population,” she mentions.

Oxfam Philippines estimates the figure as those Filipinos who experienced a growth in wealth of over $5 million or ₱278.24 million and beyond.

Geronimo noted that if a wealth tax targeted towards Filipino millionaires was made into law, this would make the country over $3.8 billion wealthier.

“This amount is enough to increase our health budget by two-fifths,”  says Geronimo.

The Bureau of Treasury’s data shows that the Philippines’ tax haul increased by over 12.5% year-on-year to ₱237.1 billion as of November 2022. Collections for year-to-date increased by over 12.6% on-year to over ₱2.2 trillion.

In the House of Representatives, the Makabayan bloc has refiled their Super-Rich Tax bill which imposes a 1-3% tax on billionaires and has mentioned that this would generate over ₱236.7 billion each year from only the 50 most wealthy Filipinos.

Supporters have voiced that the tax on the wealthy would aid government programs and social services funding for the marginalized and “would further help shift the burden away from regressive consumption taxes toward the handful of the wealthiest who can contribute more to our public coffers.”

Source: Philstar