The House Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday approved with amendments the provisions in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region specific to taxation and wealth-sharing.
The committee, headed by Marikina City (Metro Manila) Rep. Romero Quimbo, acted on the proposed measure after it was referred to it by the House Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL last week.
Government chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and panel member Senen Bacani were present and served as resource persons.
Also present were Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles and Commissioners Hussein Muñoz and Timuay Melanio Ulama of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.
During the discussion on share of the Bangsamoro in national taxes that will be collected in its territories, Bacani said shares of the local government units (LGUs) in the Bangsamoro cannot be diminished.
“Of the 70 percent share under Republic Act 9054, 35 percent are enjoyed by local government units therein while the other half is retained by the ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao]. The percentage the LGUs are getting cannot be diminished as stipulated in the proposed BBL,” he explained.
Under the proposed measure, the current 70 percent share of the regional government will be increased to 75 percent.
Also represented in deliberations were Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), National Tax Research Center and Department of Finance.
Bacani also explained to the members of the ways and means committee the formula used for the annual block grant.
“The amount is equal to 4 percent of the 60 percent of the BIR net collection three years detached from the fiscal year. When you compute that for 2016, that is roughly P27 billion, just a little over what the ARMM received for 2015.”
Members of the committee also discussed filing of income tax by businesses operating in the Bangsamoro.
PNA