Do you think the government should scrap the Value-Added Tax (VAT)?

Question

The Philippine government is standing by its policy to keep the VAT amid surging inflation partially brought about by the global financial crunch, despite more popular calls to scrap it.

Answer 1

Keep the VAT but decrease it to 10%.

Answer 2

yes po lalo na sa gasoline at pagkain.makatulong po eto sa mga mahihirap

lalo na sa urban side,at sa ofw.

lalo po kming ofw na nagtitiis dito sa ibang bansa,instead na makakauwi at mamuhay sa Pinas ay lalong tumatagal ang aming pagtitiis dito.

salamat po

Answer 3

Yes, it's ironic that the same poor people now clamouring for it to be scrapped are the ones she claims this VAT used to provide benefits. Ask ordinary poor people on the street and and you Will find that they know nothing whatsoever this VAT did to them except hardships.

What were talking here is about the VAT on oil which I believe should be scrapped in the light of the current oil crisis. The existing VAT on other commodities may remain.

Answer 4

no! the poorest of the poor will benefit from said VAT.

Answer 5

value added tax should be remove because it was only the people nearest to the government who enjoys it

Answer 6

Answer:

Value - added tax shouldn't be removed. However, the government may decide lowering its rate. Taxes are paid by us (like the value - added tax) to support the financial necessity of the government like road construction, salary for the government employees, protection and many others.

Not all goods are subject to the value - added tax. Marine and agricultural food products in their original state (chicken, pork, beef, fish as long as it is in their original state, meaning not canned, etc.) is never subject to the value - added tax. Our salary is also not subject to the value - added tax.

Answer 7

Definitely,  if not,  at least lower it.  Scrapping the VAT especially on oil will benefit everybody, especially the poor.  When the price of the oil goes down,  the prices of all commodities should also go down.  We use oil  when we produce goods,  when we transport basic goods,  raw materials, etc...  The lowering of oil's price will decrease the cost of production of goods and the cost of transporting goods.  In effect,  the prices of basic commodities should also decrease.  

I suggest that the Government can increase taxes on things that only the rich can afford,  triple the taxes for luxury cars,  for properties in subdivisions owned by rich people like Alabang, Forbes, etc...

One of the biggest problems we have is corruption, especially in the government.  If that will be solved even partially,  we will be moving in the right direction.  Maybe even the VAT that the government gets from the oil, most of it, is taken by corrupt people from the government.

Answer 8

No, I want my 500pesos!!

Answer 9

no, the government can't scrap, we need it for progress

Answer 10

yes or else decrease a percentage of it,.... the 12% vat is too much to bear for the majority of the filipinoes esp. on the poor sectors. the small amount subsidy that she is giving to a poor is nothing comparing to the 12% that the government taking from almost every expenditures of every filipinoes. we're just like frying on the pan  from our own fat oil.

Answer 11

No! the VAT must be continued because it help a lot in providing benefits to the poor.

Answer 12

No but they need to study if they could charge different VAT rate to different industry/sector.

Answer 13

I would still opt for VAT to stay but at least the government can lower the rate or fix the amount so that it wouldn't skyrocket once prices of commondities increase.  However, the government should be able to solve the rampant graft and corruption in our country because the amount collected for VAT would still not reach the poor.

Answer 14

if the government truly sees the problem, it should be

temporarily putting aside this VAT

and concentrate more on putting back the economy back in place as well as finding alternative ways to overcome the situation. they must audit all the hidden expenditures and not just putting the load to the common people.

They must recall on how they put the VAT last time,before that, what was the reason when they did it.

Answer 15

I don't think the government should scrap away the VAT but rather, spend it as it should be spent.

Furthermore, government expenditures must be transparent to avoid public suspicions.

Lastly, Philippine political, cultural & spiritual norms are so faulty that a general overhaul is imperative to save our children & their children from sure disaster in the future.

Answer 16

In a perfect scenario, it should not be scrapped. It is a means of income and a source of funds which the government can put into good use.

In the Philippines however, we all know corruption and fraud is rampant thus funds from sources like VAT are not put into good use. Even then, I don't think it should be scrapped because scrapping it will only make me worry. I'd be worried what our government officials will think of next ... to steal money from the people. (maybe something worse than VAT)

Answer 17

I think the VAT should be scrap for being a regressive one. Meaning it is imposed to the persons or juridical entity with a high salary or profits with the same tax rate than those in the middle class or lower class, & vice versa. Pertaining to the former it is just, while to the latter it is unjust. It is in violation of the equal protection of law. Such persons or juridical entity should be tax according to its salary or profits. 12% VAT is unjust to those in the middle of lower class, & favorable to the persons or corporation with a high profits.

Answer 18

I don't think it would be wise to scrap the VAT. Sometimes good governance has to take drastic and painful decisions for the betterment of the welfare of the people. In our case, scrapping or not scrapping of VAT is not the main solution, it is the collection and the enformcement of our tax laws which the government should take a closer and serious look. No matter how good a tax law is (at least on paper), if the enforcement is terrible, then it would be as good as a scrap of paper.

I think the better way to do is to lower the VAT, not totally scrap it. And increase the VAT and excise taxes on cigarrettes, alcohols and the like. It will not only discourage people from smoking and/or drinking because of the high cost, it will only encourage people to have a healthy living and somehow help the government reduce whatever healthcare spending it is incurring in smoking/drinking related-diseases.

But to totally scrap VAT, i think, is out of the equation. Government is trying to ( at least) aleviate the condition of the plight of our people. Government can only do so much. We can also do our share. We can always change the way we live and accomodate to the tough economic conditions we are in. We can always save.

Problem with government is that it institute "band-aid" reforms and not looking at prosepectively. Savings from VAT are being unwisely spent for "immediate" relief and not creating reforms and programs for long term solutions. Also, the negative image this administration has, effectively tainted its honest-to-goodness intention to utilize VAT savings for the welfare of the poor and people have this notion than it will just end up in their pockets. Too bad..

Answer 19

so that all of us can benefit all.. reduce the VAT instead than scrapping it.. reduce it by 2-5%.. we started suffering because of the Expanded VAT (E-VAT) before right so why not this time reduce it.. Reduce VAT on everything & it should start on oil prices.. ^_^

Answer 20

The same poorest of the poors are clamouring it to be scrapped, which the gov't boastfully claimed this VAT used to help -because they do not even feel its beneficial effect. Two reasons seen; it might be that the government is deceived - or it is trying to deceive the people.

It was found out that 40% of government total revenues on taxes goes to corruption. Why not go after these corrupt officials instead of burdening the poor people? Two reasons seen again; it might be that the government does not have the capacity to this - or it is a part of it!

Answer 21

No, the philippine govt.will not scrap the vlue added tax because that will help a lot to support our economy if they use that properly, thats a big help to our economy.thats my reason

but for other reason why the govt.dont want to scrap the value added tax because thats one of the source of  thier corruption activity to those politician whos longing for just personal interest only.thats one of the reason the govt. still suffering till now because of this starving politician

Answer 22

Yes, they should. Another option is to cut withholding tax from our salaries to about 15% average per month so that we can afford to survive amidst rising prices of basic necessities.

Answer 23

No.it has to stand,it should have been implamented years ago,just to be able to support the poor in some way,also people should get off their *** and find some work of some desrciption and stop having so many babies,I am married to a Filipina and I own a house in the Philippines and live in Australia and I know first hand what the life is like there and the people don't do enough to help themselves so the Government has to have the VAT on everything to be able to hand it around in tough times and God knows they get more than their share of that with weather or fire and life is so cheap.

Answer 24

In my opinion, the Value Added Tax(VAT) should remain.It hurt somehow specially those in low class but it also helpful to them if it is used properly and accordingly.And also the government put a restriction of collecting this VAT.Those employed received below minimum should not pay 12% VAT.

Answer 25

no, the government shouldnt totally scrap the vat but at least should consider lowering it.  besides if the poor of the poorest have been benefit from the vat how come with this crisis there are still lots of mouths to feed.  where did all the money went???? if you want to do business today, you have to pay for the permits and etc.? you have to pay taxes otherwise the bir agents will treaten you and issue you a warrant of arrest. but how come our country still cant afford new roads, new computers, new technology,new guns for the policeman,  and how come some  higher government officials have new cars??? nice clothes,jewelry????

Answer 26

No. Even rich nations have Value-Added Tax. It is the duty of the government to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. The revenues from VAT should be properly channeled to pay our external debts and should be used for programs that support economic growth. Many government and non-government programs have been in place but we need to examine their relevance and effectivity and evaluate what are the possible loopholes why they have failed.

Answer 27

The vat should not be scrap as it is the source of revenue to serve the people

Answer 28

For the basics they should take out or reduce VAT like for gasoline, health care, books, water, electricity which should help the masses cope with inflation

Answer 29

Yes, i believe the government should scrap the Value Added Tax. At first seems like a good idea to pull out the country in a economic disaster, but now it's the reverse. The poor is getting poorer and the middle class is getting poor. The government should take a note on what the economic experts are saying. They should focus on collecting taxes on income and property. They should impose higher tax to higher income earner. If everybody pays their income and property tax like they do in the U.S. I believed the country will progress. In closing note. Lets all pray that the government do realize what the VAT is doing to a common family in our country.

Answer 30

yes, the govt should scrap vat..after all, malaki na ang nakulimbat ni arroyo at ng mga alipores nya ng dahil sa vat..besides lahat ng binibili natin ay may vat..kinakaltasan pa ang salary natin ng vat..multiple vat na ang binabayaran natin..sobra na ang paghihirap natin ng dahil sa vat..ok lang sana kung sa dapat kapuntahan napupunta ang vat na binabayaran natin eh hindi naman di ba?napupunta lang sa bulsa ng ilan ang vat natin..kaya dapat tanggalin na yang vat na yan..and fyi lang sa mga nagsasabi na vat serves the people..YOU'RE SO WRONG!!! if vat serves the people then answer this: how come there are so many hungry filipinoes? how come there are no jobs available for these hungry filipinoes? if vat serves the people di ba dapat nakikita natin kung san napunta ang binabayaran nating vat?