tax reform

Government losing control of economy –IBON

September 5, 2018

  The Duterte administration is losing control over the Philippine economy and the poorest Filipinos are suffering for this, research group IBON said upon the release of the August inflation rate. The greatly accelerating inflation is only the latest in a series of bad economic news about the economy’s so-called fundamentals. The Philippine Statistics Authority […]

Poorest 60M Filipinos suffer income loss due to first 6 months inflation in 2018

August 7, 2018

Lowest-income households lost as much as Php2,700 since start of 2018 Accelerating inflation since the start of the year has eroded the incomes of the country’s poorest families. Research group IBON estimates that the poorest 60 million Filipinos have suffered income losses of anywhere from Php993 to as much as Php2,715 because of worsening inflation […]

TRAIN-driven rising cost of living makes wage hike urgent

July 9, 2018

Research group IBON said that tax-driven inflation is making the meager wages of poor Filipinos fall even further behind the rising cost of living. The group said this makes it even more urgent for the government to immediately raise wages even as it revisits the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law behind the […]

First quarter of TRAIN: A preview of the worse to come for the poor

April 20, 2018

Nanay Inday joins the many ordinary folk in bearing the brunt of price hikes upon the January 2018 implementation of the first package of the Duterte administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN). A resident of the urban poor community in San Roque North Triangle, she laments that there are no longer Php5.00 bundles […]

Double taxes on oil show govt’s lack of concern for poor – IBON

February 23, 2018

Slapping additional taxes on oil products makes the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law anti-poor, research group IBON said. Contrary to the argument that the new law is ‘fair’, the group said that these oil taxes should be scrapped for the benefit of millions of Filipinos who will otherwise continue to suffer the […]

Letter to the Editor | Five reasons why the TRAIN will not benefit the poor

January 16, 2018

These reiterations are in reaction to the article “Assessing TRAIN” by Mr. Filomeno Sta. Ana of the Action for Economic Reforms (AER), which appeared on the January 8, 2018 issue of Business World. IBON has repeatedly presented its evidence-based analysis of the TRAIN (basing on the Department of Finance data no less) and consistently deepened […]

Even more money for the rich under TRAIN law – IBON

January 12, 2018

The rich and other higher income groups will have larger take home pay than previously estimated under the new tax law, while the poor will still bear the brunt of paying higher taxes, said research group IBON. IBON said that the highest earning 40% or about 9.1 million households will have even more money in […]

Downplaying the price impact of TRAIN dishonest and insensitive–IBON

January 8, 2018

Petroleum excise taxes proven to be very inflationary in the past The administration persistently downplays certain increases in the prices of goods and services, research group IBON’s Executive Director Sonny Africa said. This is dishonest and insensitive to the burden that the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) imposes on the poor to avoid […]

2018 prosperity by Duterte policies not for all—IBON

January 2, 2018

Admin’s avid push for market-driven measures will run over the poor majority The new year seems to usher in more difficulties for Filipinos in accessing basic goods, public utilities, and services amid government’s exclusionary policies, research group IBON said. The market-driven policies that have been prioritized by the Duterte government such as the Tax Reform […]