IN spite of the Department of Finance’s “optimism” that the remaining four packages of the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) can be passed before the 2019 midterm elections, it seems unlikely they will be. And they should not be rushed but studied carefully, given the importance of the CTRP measures and the profound effects they will have on the country’s economy.

So far, only the first package of the sweeping tax reform measures has become law. That is the “Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion” or Train Act. It lowered personal income taxes and raised excise taxes on fuel, vehicles, coal and sweetened beverages, and went into effect at the beginning of 2018.