More than half of Filipinos support a proposed wealth tax on billionaires as lawmakers seek measures to make the tax system more progressive, according to a Momentum Research survey.
“Amid rising inflation rates and an increasing cost of living, many low- to middle-income Filipinos are feeling the strain of a widening wealth gap,” the research firm said in a statement.
“The proposed wealth tax on the country’s richest individuals seeks to help redistribute wealth and raise more funds for government social welfare programs,” it added.
The National Momentum Survey, conducted from Aug. 18 to 23 across 1,487 Filipinos, found that 66.3% of Filipino adults agree on the proposed wealth tax while 28.0% disagree.
Of the 1,487 respondents, roughly 3 out of 4 adults, or 74.6% of households earning between P13,873 and P27,746, support a wealth tax.
Meanwhile, some 74.6% of adults earning less than P13,873 disagree with the legislative proposal, followed by 28.4% of middle-income adults earning P27,746 and P166,476.
Broken down by generation, 76.6% of millennials favor the proposed legislation, followed by Gen X at 67.1% and Gen Z at 61.9%. Meanwhile, 42.1% of Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation opposed it.
House Bill No. 9274, or the “Ultra-Wealth Tax” Act filed by Party-list Rep. Leila M. de Lima last May, seeks to establish an annual 1% tax for individuals with net taxable assets of over P1 billion, 2% for those with P2 billion, and 3% for those with P3 billion or more.
Revenues raised from the measure will be allocated to public health services, education, the local government support fund, social protection and employment, and housing.
Think tank IBON Foundation reported that the richest 2% of Filipinos hold about P25 trillion in wealth, nearly equivalent to that of the poorest 80% combined.
The proposed law could generate about P500 billion from the 3,000 richest, whose combined net worth is P8.15 trillion, and P153.5 billion from the 15 richest individuals, whose combined net worth is P2.59 trillion.
Other lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc have also filed similar bills; however, they remain pending at the committee level. — Almira Louise S. Martinez