Research paper tungkol sa train law

Apparently, the Philippine tax system is a very complicated one. This was certainly considered by Congress when it enacted the Train law. Consequently, Train introduces amendments which are geared towards simpler tax compliance. Some of these amendments are:

Notably, the Pantawid Pasada transfers included in TRAIN likely reduced poverty in the transport sector. Dr. Tuaño reasons many drivers and operators are found just below the poverty line, so even modest transfers could lift many of them out of poverty. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of other sectors.

But even now there’s ample evidence – anecdotal and empirical – that TRAIN has worsened poverty and income inequality, thus belying some of its purported welfare benefits. Keep in mind that a number of lawmakers seeking reelection today advocated for the TRAIN law or otherwise helped push it forward.

In a separate paper, Dr. Chat Manasan showed that just because TRAIN slapped a higher top marginal tax rate (from 32% to 35%), it doesn’t necessarily mean TRAIN made the tax system more progressive overall. In fact, TRAIN arguably made it less so.