Electric Vehicle tax incentives must include two and three-wheel transports
Bantay Konsyumer, Kalsada, Kuryente (BK3) appeals to the President to expand tax incentives granted to four-wheel electric vehicles to cover two- and three-wheel vehicles as well. This move will definitely benefit more Filipinos, not just those who can afford four-wheel cars.
We commend the issuance of Executive Order 12 by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in January this year because it recognizes the need to shift to alternative forms of energy for the sake of the environment. But we also feel that it is discriminatory, because the bulk of the Filipino working class does not own four-wheel cars. They use two- and three-wheel vehicles, or even public utility jeepneys.
We have to correct this exclusion.
Those who are already given tax perks are vehicle owners from the AB socio-economic bracket. Meanwhile, the greater millions use their two-or three-wheeled vehicles to go to and from work or school. These are the people who are already acutely feeling the pinch of higher prices of fuel and other commodities against their limited income.
An amended EO will also be an opportunity for the government to shift more consumers away from fossil fuels. The zero-import tax incentive for five years will allow more consumers to consider better and more environmentally friendly alternatives.
There are over 7 million motorcycles in the country, and there is a substantial economic cost to this. Thus, tax breaks for electric two or three-wheel vehicles would create an incentive for Filipinos to make the healthier, more cost-effective choice to use electric vehicles — the more responsible choice.
There is a growing demand for electrically powered motorcycles given their cost-effectiveness and their sustainability and is a step in the right direction as we struggle to address and mitigate the risks of climate change,
It is one thing to make pronouncements about the benefits of environmentally friendly alternatives. It is quite another thing to actually create policy that supports and promotes this in a way that could be felt by all people, not just the upper classes.
Making the EO more inclusive is the right thing to do.