9 out of 10 NCR residents want Oil VAT scrapped

IBON Survey / July 26, 2008
Reference: Ms Rosario Bella Guzman (IBON executive editor)


In spite of aggressive government efforts to justify the 12% value added tax (VAT) on oil, almost nine out of 10 Metro Manila residents still feel that the said tax must be scrapped.

In a metro-wide survey conducted by IBON Foundation on July 12-13, 87.33% of respondents agree with the proposals to scrap the VAT on petroleum products.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to highlight the supposed benefits of the people from government's growing collections from the VAT in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

Various groups have been calling for the cancellation of the VAT on oil in the face of escalating pump prices with several legislative proposals implementing the said measure currently pending in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has also called for at least a review of the oil VAT. Estimates show that at current price levels, removing the controversial tax can reduce pump prices by more than P7 per liter.

IBON's special survey was conducted across NCR and has a margin of error of plus of minus three percent.

Below is the tabulation of results of the respondents' perception on the removal of the value-added tax on petroleum products.




Do you agree with the proposals to remove the VAT on petroleum products?
Yes 324 87.33
No 31 8.36
Don't Know 16 4.31
371 100.00



*IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.