BY EMILY VITAL
Bulatlat
January 29, 2008 – 3:11pm

Bayan Muna (People First) representatives filed today House Bill No. 3442 seeking the exemption of oil from the 12-percent restructured value-added tax (RVAT).

“We have set into motion the process of removing the VAT on oil, something which can emanate only from the House of Representatives,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño. “All legislators know that without this, all those proposals in the Senate will never bear fruit.”

Sens. Manuel Roxas III and Francis Escudero filed separate bills at the Senate seeking the lifting and removal of 12-percent VAT on oil.

Casiño said that the government has ‘unjustly earned’ a net windfall of P38.9B in 2006 from the imposition of a 12% value-added tax (VAT) on the sale and importation of crude oil and finished petroleum products.

Meanwhile, Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) Reps. Liza Maza and Luz Ilagan led the filing of another bill, known as HB 3433 seeking the repeal of RVAT law.

They said that the RVAT law or RA 9337 is “a heavy burden for the people especially for those struggling to make both ends meet.” (Bulatlat.com)