Tax Reform Forum

On Tuesday, the 28th of November, the Philippine-Netherlands Business Council, in cooperation with the European Chamber of Commerce Philippines and the EU-Philippines Business Network, held a Tax Reform Forum luncheon in Tower Club Makati. Present were PNBC, ECCP and EPBN members, as well as other people curious about the proposed tax reform. The invited speaker for the forum was Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Habitan from the Department of Finance, who discussed the different causes, effects, and outcomes of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, or TRAIN.

TRAIN’s main objective is to make tax collection more effective and have the rich give a bigger contribution while the poor benefit more from the government’s programs and services. The vision of the Department of Finance for the Philippines is to lower the poverty rates over the next few years and eradicate it completely by the year 2040. To do so, the Philippines needs…