Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he and Senate President Franklin Drilon are set to meet with President Benigno Aquino III this week to discuss proposals to lower income taxes, both for individual and corporate payers.

Belmonte said the meeting was set “to try to convince the President to support our proposal,” which was to adjust income tax brackets to inflation without changing the tax rates.  Tax brackets have not been adjusted since 1997.

 “The Senate President and I will meet the President on Monday (Nov. 9, 2015), and among the important things we [will talk] about is income tax,” Belmonte said after meeting with congressional leaders last week.

Studies show that the concerns raised by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) over potential revenue losses of P30 billion from lower income tax rates could be offset by new tax collections from the Salary Standardization Law and a pending bill seeking to impose a 10 percent ad valorem tax on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages.

Estimates show that P44 billion in new revenues would be raised from the P13 billion tax in implementing the P50.6 billion Salary Standardization Law next year under the proposed 2016 General Appropriations Act and another P33 billion from the soft drinks tax.

Currently, income in excess of P500,000 is taxed 32 percent in the Philippines, the highest rate in Southeast Asia.

When adjusted to inflation, the lower income tax rates proposed by the Congress are as follows:  for income not over P21, 613, five percent; from P21,614 to P64,839, 10 percent; P64,839 to P151,290, 15 percent; P151,291 to P302,581, 20 percent;

From P302,582 to P540,323, 25 percent; P540,323 to P1,080,645, 30 percent; and over P1,080,645, 32 percent.