Foreign biz groups want stronger tax enforcementIn a statement yesterday, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) said it backs Marcos’ continued commitment to advance reforms to enhance the country’s competitiveness, modernize governance and improve the investment climate. In his last SONA, Marcos called on Congress to pass tax relief measures to ease the financial burden on workers, particularly the middle class. The proposed measures include expanding the income tax exemption by raising the threshold to P350,000 from the current P250,000. World Bank senior country economist Jaffar Al-Rikabi said that the Philippines needs to focus on improving tax collection, rather than hiking tax rates. While the Philippines’ value-added tax (VAT) rate is at 12 percent and Thailand’s is at a lower seven percent, the two countries’ VAT collection account for the same share in their respective economies, he noted.