Dear Editor,
I watched the Presidential press conference on August 14, and while I expected the President to address or correct the widespread concerns about the PGST and BPT, I was stunned and disappointed by how he completely ignored the critical issue of how the PGST is actually applied. It’s easy to explain how the tax is supposed to work, but he offered no clarification on how it is actually implemented. I was hoping he would provide evidence that, throughout the PGST chain, the tax is not compounded each time it’s passed on and eventually paid by the consumer. Yet, after all these years and even during this press conference, neither the President nor his Minister and Director have addressed this issue.
Now, I’m really skeptical of their claims that critics are “misinforming” the public. If they truly want to set the record straight, the President has failed in that effort. In fact, his lack of transparency regarding the actual process feels disingenuous or even untruthful.
Additionally, we’ve been informed that under the Business Profits Tax (BPT) section of the PGST system, there are 94 tax-deductible items for large companies, and that the 12% tax on these companies’ income is much less than what they would have paid under the old 4% system. I wanted clear answers from the Finance Minister, the Tax Director, and especially the President. But instead, they continue to dodge the issue. Frustrated by this, I visited the government website to find regulations on these matters. What I found were the Business Profits Tax regulations, but they didn’t explain how all those deductions are applied for large companies like WCTC and Surangel & Sons.
I would like the President and his Ministry to provide clear answers instead of evading the issue and deflecting questions. If they don’t, I hope responsible reporting can bring the truth to light for the people.
Ko mesaul,
Rekung