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PUBLIC
transport is hurting and the government is looking at
how to ease its plight possibly by a subsidy to be
sourced from the value-added tax (VAT) windfall income.
“The
subsidy [for the transport sector] could be part of the
VAT’s windfall, and a task force is looking at how to
apportion the additional revenues from VAT,” said
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.
Malacañang earlier approved a P500 subsidy to each
lifeline family user of electricity or those using not
more than 100 kilowatts a month.
Teves
said the task force will determine how to dispense the
P4-billion quarterly additional revenues from VAT that
has resulted in the higher prices of oil.
“Any
amendment to the E-VAT would have to be done by
Congress. But we prefer to continue implementing it
because we need it very badly to help the very poor who
are suffering from these developments, especially
Typhoon Frank, and the oil-price increases, and we need
to immediately address their needs,” he said.
Energy
Secretary Angelo Reyes said his department prefers a
financing scheme for owners to be able to convert their
vehicles to run on compressed natural gas or liquefied
petroleum gas, instead of a mere dole-out that is
temporary.
“The
transport sector is not looking for cash dole-out,
because they would rather have lower rates and longer
tenor for the financing that they could get.” |
