Manila, March 12 -- The Department of Finance (DOF) has made a last-minute appeal to the Senate to pass its original proposal of a uniform royalty rate of 5 percent for all mining operations, whether located inside or outside a mineral reservation, in line with the government's reform objectives of making the country's tax system simpler, more efficient and fairer for all taxpayers, finance officials announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Finance Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Habitan told senators before the adjournment of the congressional session last month that the DOF proposal would haul in an estimated PHP7.2 billion in incremental revenues to the state coffers in the initial year of its implementation, which is double the projected am...