ABSTRACT

The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) of

President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration is the first package of the
Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

The President in his 2016 State of the Nation Address (SONA) has
made remarks on taxation that his administration will pursue tax reforms
towards a simpler, more equitable and more efficient tax system that can
foster investment and job creation. It will lower personal and corporate
income tax rates and relax the Bank Secrecy Law.

The President again mentioned in his 2017 SONA his pro-poor tax
reform program saying that revenues are the life blood of government
which enables it to provide for the people’s needs. According to the
President, these reforms are designed to be pro-poor, especially when
the people understand how the revenues will be spent. The poor and
vulnerable are at the heart of the tax reform. The passage of the Tax
Reform Law is needed to fund the proposed 2018 budget.

On December 19, 2017, the President signed into law the Republic
Act (RA) No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion
(“TRAIN”) but vetoed some provisions. On December 27, 2017, it was
published in the Official Gazette to take effect on January 1, 2018.

This study attempts to provide an overall viewpoint of what is the

tax reform program drawn out by the current administration.

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 This paper tries to study if the tax reform is in accord with the
objectives (i.e., for job creation and to foster investment) for which it was
proposed by the Duterte administration specifically whether the TRAIN is
a pro-poor tax measure.

Essentially, the TRAIN lowers personal income tax, estate and

donor’s tax, and expands the VAT range. On the other hand, it increases
excise taxes on fuel, mineral products, vehicles, and cigarettes. It also
imposes new taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and cosmetic
procedures.

In sum, the TRAIN is yet to address the lowering of corporate

income tax, investment and job creation as well as relaxing Bank
Secrecy law. As for the personal income tax, the TRAIN lowered the tax
rates of the compensation income in each of the salary bracket but
imposed the maximum tax rate (individual taxable income over P8
million) from 32% to 35%. Further, the brunt of price hikes due to the
increased excise taxes imposed by the TRAIN negates its character of
being pro-poor initiative.

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