This position paper on the petroleum excise tax was read by ICSC environmental economics advisor Dr. Marian Delos Angeles during the 13th Public Hearing of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Bills held on August 10, 2017.

“In sum, ICSC commends the DOF and the authors of the Senate bill for taking this visionary initiative. There are historical precedents for this, such as the differential tax on gasolines with different lead content. The Clean Air Act also provided for market-based instruments to curb pollution but these still have not been implemented. We urge the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, DOE, and DOF to please review these provisions. Still ICSC says that the extant Senate bill needs to be enacted quickly. ICSC would also like to offer our insights and services to the committee on bills on carbon taxation in the future.”