Filipinos whose net taxable holdings climb past the billion-peso mark would face a yearly levy on their fortunes under a measure now pending in the House of Representatives.
ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima authored House Bill No. 9274, which she calls the “Ultra-Wealth Tax Act.” The legislation would revise portions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 to establish the charge.
Under the proposal, the rate climbs alongside the size of a person’s wealth. Holdings beyond P1 billion would be taxed at 1 percent, those above P2 billion at 2 percent, and fortunes exceeding P3 billion at 3 percent. De Lima stressed that only a narrow slice of taxpayers would actually fall within its reach.
She framed the bill as a corrective to a tax structure she described as tilted against ordinary citizens, pointing to consumption levies that weigh most heavily on poorer and middle-income households.
“Government interventions are therefore necessary to address the rising gap in inequality brought about by massive economic disruptions, coupled with systemic failures, including having a regressive taxation system,” she said in a statement Sunday.
Revenue collected under the scheme would be earmarked for specific ends, according to the lawmaker: health programs, schools, a support fund for local governments, social protection and jobs initiatives, and housing.
“To truly promote social justice and help those in need, we must give our fair share. Isulong ang makatarungan at inklusibong pagbubuwis at gamitin ang pondo ng bayan sa epektibong mga programa at serbisyo na may tunay na pakinabang sa ating mga kababayan,” she said.
The idea did not originate with her bill. Former National Economic Development Authority chief Winnie Monsod earlier floated a wealth tax as economic strains from tension in the Middle East mounted. Malacañang, asked about the concept, indicated it was weighing every proposal on the table.
That openness came with a caveat from the Palace, which observed that several European governments have walked away from similar taxes after finding them difficult to administer and disappointing in what they brought in.
