00:00I actually only have one question. I was going through the chairman's report, which JV shared earlier.
00:06Ang napansin ko po was most of the interventions are ready for the poorest of the poor, the most vulnerable.
00:14Do you have anything that you can offer to the middle class because they're also affected?
00:20Well, pag sinuspend natin yung excise tax as well as the possibility of suspending VAT, that will hit everyone, the
00:30middle class, even the rich segment.
00:33So that's why we have to study that very carefully, especially in VAT. VAT is very complex.
00:39In fact, marami akong nababasa ng op-ed galing sa iba-ibang economies, accountants, iba-iba rin yung kanilang ano
00:48kasi nga it's complicated.
00:50And so the most straightforward would be excise tax and that will hit basically middle class all the way to
01:00the upper segments of our income bracket.
01:07So kasama siya doon. Pero if you look at our recommendation, meron rin kaming recommendation for minimum wage earners.
01:16Typically, ang ating mga social amelioration are poverty level and below.
01:25So we also recommended minimum wage earners kasi near poor sila and susceptible sila sa inflation shock.
01:34Sir, what about subsidies for the middle class?
01:39Pwedeng pag-aralan yan. Malaki kasi ang middle class.
01:43In fact, if you look at the definition ng DepDev, wala talagang strict definition ng middle class kasi very broad
01:51siya.
01:52Merong middle, middle low, middle high, very broad siya.
01:55So pwedeng pag-aralan kung sinong susceptible sa inflation shock.
01:59Ang importante dito yung pag tinamakan ka ng inflation shock, kaagad bababa yung income mo or pwede kang pumunta sa
02:08poverty segment.
02:09Sir, with the last two hearings, it was established already that the excise tax relief may not actually be enough
02:19to compensate for the effect ng oil price increases.
02:23Kasi nga, masyado na siyang malaki.
02:25When you make that proposal or the suggestion from the oil industry na vat removal will be done upon import.
02:34Para wala na silang input vat and so as to streamline the process.
02:37And mawala na yung sinasabi ninyo na sinasabi ng ibang experts din na mahirap tanggalin yung vat kasi nga mawawala
02:50yung pambangga.
02:53Yung essentially yung input and output mawawala ng saisaya.
02:57So what do you make of their suggestion upon entry, upon import, tanggal na yun para wala ng input-output?
03:04Kasi pag binili, ito yung complexity ng vat.
03:07Pag binili kasi nila, tatanggalin yung vat.
03:11Tapos ibebenta nila yan sa, let's say, sa trader.
03:15Kasi mayroon pang mga intermediary.
03:18Sila naman may output vat.
03:20So in other words, wala ang kabangga yung intermediary.
03:25And then pag binenta naman ng intermediary sa retail,
03:30tapos yung retailer magbebenta ng may output, wala rin siyang kabangga.
03:35Ang problema, pag tinanggal mo naman yung buong segment,
03:38paano mo mahihimay yung oil portion versus, let's say, the other input?
03:48Like for example, pag nag-haul ka ng gasolina, kasama na kasi yung hauling doon sa input eh.
03:53Hindi mo naman masesegregate, magkano yung hauling, magkano yung ano.
03:57So it's complex in that sense.
04:00But I'm not saying naman it's not possible.
04:03Baka administratively lang, it's very complex.
04:06So that's why ang aming recommendation is for BIR to study it.
04:12Because in concept nga, pwede nga tanggalin.
04:15Pero administratively naman, napakahirap.
04:18So, baka hindi rin ma-realize natin yung savings from VAT.
04:23Kasi pag wala kang kabangga, kinakalat yan eh.
04:27Nakita yan natin sa medicines.
04:29Diba sa medicines, in exempt natin.
04:31Pero in actual savings from medicines, kinakalat nila yan sa ibang products.
04:35Let's say sa grocery or sa non-essential.
04:39So kumakalat siya.
04:40But in this case, sa oil kasi wala naman siya ibang product.
04:43So ikakalat niya yan sa, baka ipatong lang niya yan sa oil in some form.
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