Exporters balk at proposed hike in road users’ tax, number coding scheme

Congress wants to hike taxes on vehicle users by as much as 90 percent.—MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA  -The Philippine Exporters Federation (Philexport) has urged the Marcos administration to take a second look at plans to increase taxes on road users and focus on taxing luxury goods instead.

Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. told this to reporters last week when asked if they see higher road users’ tax impacting logistics costs.

“We have no problem with taxing luxuries. Even many businessmen are willing to do that. But the government should study first the road users tax,” Ortiz-Luis said in an interview.

To recall, President Marcos called for higher road users tax as one of the priority tax measures during his State of the Nation Address late last month.

The House of Representatives already approved at the committee level a bill hiking the motor vehicle road users’ tax (MVRUT). The additional funds will be used by the government for road infrastructure projects, accident prevention programs and modernization of public utility vehicles.

READ: House committee approves bill hiking road users’ tax

Almost double

The proposed taxes are higher by as much as 90 percent from current levels.

Under the bill, the proposed MVRUT for passenger cars with a gross vehicle weight of up to 1,600 kilograms, such as a Toyota Vios, will be P2,080 in 2023, P2,560 in 2024 and further to P3,040 in 2025.

Owners of sports utility vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 4,500 kg will have to pay P1.40 per kg of the vehicles’ weight in 2023, P2.50 per kg in 2024 and P3.40 per kg in 2025. The same amount will be applied to trucks, buses and trailers with a gross vehicle weight of over 4,500 kg.

The Philexport official also called on the government to review the current number coding scheme, citing that it has driven car owners to buy secondary vehicles to circumvent the restriction.

“People had no choice [but to buy]. We have no developed mass transportation,” he said, adding that this has only caused traffic to worsen since the implementation of the scheme. INQ