Congress to pass salary hike bill but not tax cut

(Malacanang stock photo)

The Salary Standardization Law (SSL) of 2015 is set to be approved by the House of Representatives today. The bill intends to increase the salary of 1.3 million government workers by an average of 45 percent with P226 billion in funds.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte who secured the signature of President Benigno Aquino III for the SSL is yet to acquire the president’s certification on the proposed individual and corporate income tax deduction.

“Higher salaries without tax reform means these government employees would go to higher tax brackets, pay more taxes, and take home less [pay],” said Sen. Sonny Angara, head of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, in an Inquirer.net report.

On the other hand, President Aquino has expressed before concerns on government’s loss of revenue if income taxes would be lowered. The government would lose P30 billion on the first year of the implementation of the bill.

In the proposed bill, individuals with annual salary of P180, 000 and below are exempted from paying taxes while individuals earning P180, 000 to P500, 000 have 9 nine percent tax rate.