- Senator Marcos slammed the Aquino administration for refusing to directly remit mining taxes to LGUs
- The vice-presidential aspirant said that mining firms did not pose any objection on the matter
- Marcos has recently swiped on another government official over cooperative tax rules
Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has slammed the administration of Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III for allegedly refusing to directly remit the share of Local Government Units (LGUs) from mining taxes to the concerned cities and municipalities.
In an article written by Elizabeth Marcelo for GMA News Online on March 7, it was disclosed that Marcos was referring to one of the recommendations of the Senate Committee on Local Government, which called for the direct remittance of taxes gained from the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources to the LGUs instead of submitting the collections to the national government.
“We have been pushing for that for a long time but the national government steadfastly opposed this move,” the senator said in a statement.
Marcos, who authored Senate Bill 133 that seeks the automatic appropriation of taxes to LGUs, also added that the government has already consulted mining companies about the proposal, and the corporations did not pose any objection on the matter.
“We have conducted a hearing on this and mining companies agree to our position that they should directly remit to the LGU their share of the taxes instead of having to remit it first to the national government. I believe that this is what should be done,” he said.
Last week, the vice presidential aspirant under the slate of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago also slammed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for allegedly charging taxes from cooperatives, which are supposedly exempted from paying their tax dues to the government based on existing laws.
Marcos, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Cooperatives, said that according to the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008, cooperatives whose operations primarily deal with its members are not “subject to any taxes and fees imposed under the internal revenue laws and other tax laws,” while those who transact business with people who are not part of their organization are also exempted from tax dues; provided that their accumulated reserves and undivided savings do not exceed P10 million.
“Because of this practice many cooperatives were forced to pay their taxes under protest,” he said; adding that the BIR requires several documentary requirements to be submitted prior to the approval of tax exemptions.
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