Train Law

                                                                  TRAIN LAW


Tax reform is taking the taxes off things that have been taxed in the past and putting taxes on things that haven't been taxed before. 
                                                                                      Art Buchwald

       According to Cleopatra Fatima Al- Haliqiouis Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion. The TRAIN law vision allegedly creates a more effective & an easier system where the wealthier people, companies, etc contribute more and the less wealthy will benefit from services obtained through the government. According to this new law implemented January 1, 2018, by 2020 the poverty rate will allegedly be reduced from 26% to 17% for a small percentage of individuals and by 2022 the GNI /USD increases from approximately 2,800.00 to 3,000.00. By 2040 economic and political institutions will allegedly allow every person equal opportunity & extreme poverty is eradicated. By 2040 the GNI/USD will increase from 3,000.00 to 12,000.00. In order to achieve this, investment rates and other funds must grow.

     According to Edward G. Gialogo ,as we celebrated the New Year, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law or Republic Act No 10963 took effect on January 1, 2018. Train overhauls the outdated National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) which was adopted 20 years ago. As a tax lawyer, I noticed that there are a lot of news reports on the changes. But actually, there are much more significant changes under the Train law which are not being reported. Train relatively decreases the tax on personal income, estate, and donation. However, it also increases the tax on certain passive incomes, documents (documentary stamp tax) as well as excise tax on petroleum products, minerals, automobiles, and cigarettes. The Train law also imposes new taxes in the form of excise tax on sweetened beverages and non-essential services (invasive cosmetic procedures) and removes the tax exemption of Lotto and other PCSO winnings amounting to more than P10,000.The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law or Republic Act No 10963 took effect on January 1, 2018. It revises National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) which was adopted 20 years ago. 
While one of the highlights of this law is the decrease on personal income tax, there are other taxes increased for other things. One would be the increase in excise taxes on cigarettes, petroleum and automobiles, among others. An excise tax is also imposed on sweetened beverages and a few other products and services. Still, many people can't help being glad about the provision of the TRAIN law which exempts an individual with a taxable income of P250,000 or less from income tax.This is just a very short article. There are so many things that changed under the TRAIN law. Some taxes increased, some taxes either decreased or totally no more depending on certain conditions. I have yet to understand this new law more. But it seems very promising.

    MANILA, Philippines — Militant lawmakers led by Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate yesterday insisted on their bid in the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the implementation of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act or TRAIN law.A day after the State Of the Nation Address where President Duterte vowed to continue implementing the TRAIN or Republic Act 10963, petitioners reiterated their plea for a temporary restraining order and for the SC to strike down the tax measure for allegedly being unconstitutional.The TRAIN law was not validly passed. It became law in violation of the Sections 16 (2) and 27 (1) of Article VI of the Constitution, among others,” petitioners stressed in their 71-page reply.

Zarate and company contested the argument of the solicitor general that official journals of the House during deliberations on the TRAIN law on Dec. 13 last year where 232 out of a total of 295 members were present proved that the law was validly passed“There is no evidence to prove the due enactment of RA 10963. On the other hand, there are several pieces of evidence proving that it was passed in violation of the quorum requirement in Section 16 (2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution and the requirement of a bill passed by Congress in Section 27, Article VI,” petitioners claimed.Article 6, Section 16 (2) of the 1987 Constitution and Section 75 of Rule XI of the House Rules both require the House to comply with the quorum requirement of a majority of the House membership before they can do any legislative business.The militant lawmakers recalled that only around 10 lawmakers, including petitioners, were present during the ratification stage. .“The government and the public in general will greatly suffer if the TRAIN law is declared invalid. The government stands to lose an estimated P146.6 billion in 2018 from the lowering and restructung of personal income tax. This loss will only be offset by the revenue generating features of the TRAIN law, which is expected to provide P89.9 billion in incremental revenues for 2018 and P786 billion within the first five years,” he added.  Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV disputed the statement made by President Duterte about how the TRAIN law has helped poor families cope with rising prices of goods.Aquino, who has been pushing for the suspension of TRAIN, said that his consultations with the poor families around the country have consistently shown that they are all hurting from the tax law.

They again argued that TRAIN should be voided because it was approved by the House of Representatives without quorum as required in the Constitution.“The TRAIN law was not validly passed. It became law in violation of the Sections 16 (2) and 27 (1)ArticleVI of the Constitution, among others,” petitioners stressed in their 71-page reply.Zarate and company contested the argument of the solicitor general that official journals of the House during deliberations on the TRAIN law on Dec. 13 last year where 232 out of a total of 295 members were present proved that the law was validly passed.