The coalition of the country’s biggest labor unions is now pushing for the imposition of a “solidarity tax” to fund the country’s Covid response.
In an online forum on Wednesday, Nagkaisa announced it wants to tax sources of wealth such as shares of stocks; bank deposits; securities (domestic); cash; as well as land and real estate.
With their proposed measure, it noted, the government could generate at least P316.55 billion if it will just tax at least 1 percent of the estimated P31.66 trillion worth of wealth in the country per year.
And if the government will opt to tax those with stock and bank accounts, it said the government could still earn P29.58 trillion.
To ensure that only wealthy will be covered by their proposed “solidarity tax,: Nagkaisa proposed a “rank-based approach,” which will be based on the total net worth of an individual.
Nagkaisa chair and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) president Sonny Matula said they already presented the proposal to the Department of Finance (DOF) and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) during their meeting with them on July 3, 2020.
During the meeting, he said the government economic managers urged Nagkaisa to submit official paper on their proposal so they could study it.
Nagkaisa member and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) secretary general Joshua Mata said they hope to submit their proposal as soon as possible.
He said they are now also in the process of crafting a bill to implement their proposed “solidarity tax.”
Nagkaisa is confident the government will support the new tax especially since it is now looking for additional funding for its Covid-19 measures.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
