OECD Urges Philippines to End VAT Perks, Raise Coal Taxes to Address Rising Debt

• OECD urges the Philippines to phase out select VAT exemptions and income tax holidays, and to increase coal excise taxes to boost revenue and address rising debt.
• The OECD highlights that the Philippines collects less than half its potential VAT revenue, mainly due to exemptions and limited enforcement.
• Recommendations include removing VAT exemptions for private education, private healthcare, and senior citizens, with targeted social transfers for vulnerable groups.
• The OECD suggests shifting from income tax holidays to expenditure-based corporate tax incentives to better support productive investments.
• The report also calls for higher coal taxes, noting current rates are too low.

Source: mb.com.ph

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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