The Master in Business Administration (MBA) and Master in Public Administration (MPA) of the Graduate School and the Center for Local Governance (CLG) conducted the Lecture-Discussion dubbed as ‘RA No. 10963–Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion: An Open Discussion on its Final Form and its Implications’ on March 16, 2018 at the Arrupe Convention Hall, Ateneo de Naga University.
The forum focused on the discussion of Ms. Marie Antoinette C.Azañes CB, RCA, CPA, Revenue Officer of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) District Office-Naga City. She discussed and explained the Law’s form and laid out some of the procedures that are now in play under it.
The said discussion gave the participants the opportunity to clarify their concerns on the law by directing their questions and issues to the Resource Person as well as to the panel of reactors namely, Mr. Jay Percival S. Ablan of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)–Camarines Sur and Mr. Claro Alfonso, the President of Naga City Market Stallholders Federation (NAMASFED).
The questions raised were on certain procedures in tax filing at the BIR, to complex social and economic ramifications of TRAIn. One of the most significant questions raised was the TRAIn Law’s positive effects on personal income among others are rendered moot by its ensuing inflation rate, to which as a response Ms. Azañes pointed out that the Law is still in its early stages and that whatever minimum negative impacts it may have may still be corrected by the succeeding additional changes on the law in the next few years.
Mr. Ablan pointed that after further studying the law, he believes that as it was presented, TRAIn appears to be beneficial for all and it deserves a chance to prove its perceived value to the Filipino.
Mr. Alfonso gave his opinion on the matter by pointing out an example of a lottery winner who lost his fortune after just a few years because of faulty financial planning, giving gravity to the thought that TRAIn Law is all still subjective to one’s practices and preferences.
This forum has been an eye-opener for the participants. As shared by one of the participants, a more rigorous information drive composed of lectures, fora and discussions such as the activity conducted should have been done by the Department of Finance and the Bureau of the Internal Revenue.
The participants came from the different sectors, namely, government agencies, academe, business, and civil society organizations.
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By Arian Jed D. Bernardo
