House bill filed to suspend TRAIN-imposed excise taxes on petroleum products

A House bill has been filed on Monday seeking to repeal the excise tax imposed on kerosene and diesel under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, and automatically suspend those on all other petroleum products.

House Bill 8171, introduced by Marikina City Representative Miro Quimbo and seven other lawmakers, serves as counterpart bill filed by Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV at the Senate for the same purpose.

The bill seeks to provide immediate solution to the accelerating inflation brought about by price hikes on products affected by TRAIN Law by repealing the excise taxes imposed on kerosene and diesel, two products on which the poor highly depend.

Under the bill, there will be no excise tax to be imposed on kerosene and diesel.

At the same time, the bill seeks to automatically suspend the excise taxes on all other petroleum products imposed under the TRAIN Law when the inflation rate for a given quarter exceeds the quarterly inflation target of the government.

"Upon such suspension, excise taxes on fuel will revert to their pre-TRAIN levels and may only be reimposed if the inflation rate in any succeeding quarter falls below the corresponding quarterly inflation target," the bill's explanatory note read.

Through the bill, the proponents expect that Filipinos will be provided relief from the effects of the TRAIN Law.

"A mechanism will also be put in place to shield from further hardship due to unforeseen spikes in inflation," the bill read. — BM, GMA News