By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he will remove the dreaded imposition of taxes on books and other publications under the proposed Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) law.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III
(Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN) This was after the appeal issued by writers and publishers' groups over concerns that the government's second tax reform program will revoke the tax incentives and value-added tax (VAT) exemption granted to the book industry. It was Sotto who filed the Senate bill that would lower corporate income tax but would eliminate incentives given to investors and business sectors. The House of Representatives already approved its version of the TRABAHO bill last September 10. In his Senate Bill No. 1906, Sotto sought to repeal certain sections of some 60 laws that provide for the tax incentives of businesses once the measure is signed into law. Included was Section 12 of the Republic Act 8047 or the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, which grants the tax and duty incentives for enterprises engaged in book publishing and related activities. The said section of RA 8047 also exempts books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, including book publishing and printing, as well as its distribution and circulation, from the imposition of VAT. Addressing concerns on the supposed removal of incentives on the books sector, the Senate chief said he is open to the deletion of the provision that might lead to the imposition of taxes on books. "Yes. I'll remove it," Sotto told the Manila Bulletin in a text message Monday. Other senators have also expressed opposition on any plans to impose taxes on books. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, in a statement, said tax exemption should remain for books and other learning materials. "I will oppose the provisions on the TRAIN 2 bill that will tax books and other reading and learning materials. The tax exemption on these items should remain as books are an integral part of education and learning. We should keep books as affordable and accessible as possible," Zubiri said Monday. "The internet cannot replace the value of reading and the literacy skills that accompany it. Books should remain tax-free, period," he stressed. Senator Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, had also vowed to reject the removal of tax incentives and exemptions for the publishing sector. "Talagang hindi tayo papayag d'yan, dahil ginawa nga nating libre ang edukasyon. Ang hirap na nga, ang daming kapus-palad na 'di makapag aral and yet gusto nating maging inaccessible pa (We will really not allow it. Becaused we already made education free. Poverty is prevalent, and yet we are making it more inaccessible for them)?" he said in a radio interview Sunday. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means is calendared to start deliberating on the proposed TRABAHO bill on Tuesday, Angara said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III(Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN) This was after the appeal issued by writers and publishers' groups over concerns that the government's second tax reform program will revoke the tax incentives and value-added tax (VAT) exemption granted to the book industry. It was Sotto who filed the Senate bill that would lower corporate income tax but would eliminate incentives given to investors and business sectors. The House of Representatives already approved its version of the TRABAHO bill last September 10. In his Senate Bill No. 1906, Sotto sought to repeal certain sections of some 60 laws that provide for the tax incentives of businesses once the measure is signed into law. Included was Section 12 of the Republic Act 8047 or the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, which grants the tax and duty incentives for enterprises engaged in book publishing and related activities. The said section of RA 8047 also exempts books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, including book publishing and printing, as well as its distribution and circulation, from the imposition of VAT. Addressing concerns on the supposed removal of incentives on the books sector, the Senate chief said he is open to the deletion of the provision that might lead to the imposition of taxes on books. "Yes. I'll remove it," Sotto told the Manila Bulletin in a text message Monday. Other senators have also expressed opposition on any plans to impose taxes on books. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, in a statement, said tax exemption should remain for books and other learning materials. "I will oppose the provisions on the TRAIN 2 bill that will tax books and other reading and learning materials. The tax exemption on these items should remain as books are an integral part of education and learning. We should keep books as affordable and accessible as possible," Zubiri said Monday. "The internet cannot replace the value of reading and the literacy skills that accompany it. Books should remain tax-free, period," he stressed. Senator Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, had also vowed to reject the removal of tax incentives and exemptions for the publishing sector. "Talagang hindi tayo papayag d'yan, dahil ginawa nga nating libre ang edukasyon. Ang hirap na nga, ang daming kapus-palad na 'di makapag aral and yet gusto nating maging inaccessible pa (We will really not allow it. Becaused we already made education free. Poverty is prevalent, and yet we are making it more inaccessible for them)?" he said in a radio interview Sunday. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means is calendared to start deliberating on the proposed TRABAHO bill on Tuesday, Angara said.