MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine Congress approved late Wednesday a tax reform bill President Rodrigo Duterte needs to push ahead with his economic agenda, with the measure expected to raise $1.8 billion in revenues in its first year.
Although the estimated tax take is less than the Department of Finance had hoped to raise, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez described the bill as "the best gift the government can give to our people". Duterte, who took office more than 17 months ago, has promised to usher in a "golden age of infrastructure" by raising annual spending on it to more than 7 percent of gross domestic product from less than 3 percent before he began his term. Although his presidency has been defined by a bloody war on drugs, the firebrand leader has thrown his weight behind the tax bill to help fund his six-year $180 billion "Build, Build, Build" program. The bill, called the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), is one of the five tax packages Duterte is pushing to increase state revenues and make the tax system fairer and simpler."We are now ready for the TRAIN to leave the station," Dominguez said in a statement.The reforms will lower personal income taxes, expand the value added tax base, raise taxes on petroleum products, automobiles and slap taxes on some sugar-sweetened beverages, among others.The final version of the bill, which will be sent to Duterte for signing before the year ends, is expected to raise 92 billion pesos ($1.8 billion) for the state in the first year of implementation, below the 162 billion pesos the government had sought. The peso