By Inquirer.Net
An association of local retailers is calling on the government to raise the planned tax rate for online sellers, saying the 1-percent withholding tax being considered is too low to achieve this move’s purpose of ensuring a level playing field.
Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) president Roberto S. Claudio told the Inquirer that owners of physical stores are subject to a 12-percent value added tax (VAT) while online sellers based overseas but cater to the local market are not.
“Online sellers have the advantage because they are not being subjected to the laws that we are being subjected to. The proposed withholding tax is just a shotgun solution by the government,” Claudio said in a phone interview.
Because of this, the PRA official said the planned tax rate should at least be benchmarked against the 12 percent VAT to level the playing field.
Further, he said the government should designate online marketplaces as the withholding agents of this tax given the different dynamic of online retailing.
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