TRAIN Law to hit minimum wage earners the most — militant youth group
- John Eric Mendoza
- Jan 10, 2018
- 2 min read
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (left) and Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez (File photos by JOAN BONDOC, GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) challenged Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque to live a day of minimum wage after claiming that Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) would have “minimal and temporary effects.”
The youth militant group reprimanded the two government officials for “downplaying the adverse effects of TRAIN and by making it seem justified and impartial.”
Both government officials previously claim that the TRAIN law would have a “minimal” and “temporary” effect to the public particularly on the prices of consumer goods.
“It is absurd for them to claim minimal and temporary effects when undeniably, taxing petroleum products and electricity shall push the prices of commodities upwards, generating a tsunami of price hikes on all goods and services, gravely affecting those already living on a hand-to-mouth existence,” said the group in a statement. SPARK then challenged Lopez and Roque “to live even for a day on minimum wage so they may know firsthand what more than 12 million Filipinos will suffer once TRAIN is fully in motion.”
“Only after they’ve come down from their ivory towers and experience firsthand to live in the slums shall they only be credible to speak about impacts to the public,” said the militant youth group. The Duterte Administration has implemented Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) on 2018, which aims to curtail personal income taxes, but increased those on consumer goods like fuel, sugar-sweetened goods, tobacco, and cars.
Experts claims it will hit the minimum wage earners the most, who will neither receive tax deductions nor exemptions, having been tax exempted before the law came into effect.
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