Crucial push for 2 bills adding relief to income earners & ushering era of clean & green vehicles

MANILA, January 24, 2013-Relief for taxpayers and relief from dirty air.

This was the gist of the twin legislative initiatives launched this week by Sen. Ralph G. Recto, hoping that the two proposed measures would get enough numbers to pass before election break sets in.

Recto’s Senate Bill (SB) 2856 or the Alternative Fuel Vehicles Incentives Act (AFVI) breezed through the crucial second reading Tuesday night, which if enacted, would usher in the era of cheap e- vehicles that puke on gas and don’t pollute the air.

The senator said the AFVI would lessen dependence on oil and promote use of alternative fuels such electricity to power vehicles.

“The bill promotes clean energy, clean air, green jobs, reduce prices of e-vehicles and also reduce import cost through tax incentives,” Recto said.

The AFVI bill rolls out tax incentives to people or groups, which will import, convert, manufacture or assemble the pioneering fleet of electric vehicles in the country, including hybrid and other motor vehicles using alternative fuel.

AFVI “converts” will be exempt from paying excise taxes and VAT for nine years to bring down the cost of importing and converting E-vehicles and their hybrid types, which should result to lower sticker price or dealer's price for buyers.

Recto, meanwhile, said his Senate Bill (SB) 2855 or the “Additional Benefit to Families Act” should put more cash in the take-home envelopes of income earners by expanding the number of qualified dependents to include parents and disabled persons.

“The bill strengthens the Filipino tradition of taking care of parents and person with disability (PWD),” he said.

The bill, which was formally sponsored for approval on the floor Tuesday, also shatters the cap on the number of child dependents.  

Recto said it is cheaper allowing families take care of their aging members and PWDs through tax relief instead of passing the buck to government.

He said the measure likewise corrects the virtual discrimination against a fifth or a sixth child, who under the tax code are not “tax deductibles” as qualified dependents.

At present, a maximum of only four qualified dependents may be claimed by taxpayers as additional exemption at P25,000 per capita. This means that a fifth or sixth child is not anymore tax deductible.

“We find support from economists that setting a limitation on the number of dependents has no bearing on the decision of couples to beget children,” Recto stressed.

The senator said the two measures have better chances of passing both chambers for its non-controversial features.

“The Senate is offering relief to our taxpayers and also relief from dirty air through affordable e-vehicles. After a divisive vote on sin tax and RH, I hope my colleagues will get onboard to support the twin measures,” he said.

The Senate has until the first week of February to put to bed some priority measures before Congress takes a break for the May mid-term polls.