runner in the Philippines' upcoming presidential elections said on Monday he would not impose new taxes if elected, but two other candidates said the country's weak revenues needed to be boosted. Speaking at a public debate, opposition Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino Jr. reiterated there was no need for new taxes, and that he would work to increase the efficiency of the government's tax collection while cracking down on smugglers and tax evaders. Four other candidates for the May presidential elections agreed with him but administration candidate Gilberto Teodoro, a former defence chief and cousin of Aquino, said he would likely expand consumption and other specific taxes. “Even if we improve tax collection efficiency, it may not be enough to fuel growth,” said Teodoro. “Probably, specific taxes on sin products and the expansion of the scope of consumption taxes would be the way to go.” Aquino had a 37 percent rating in an opinion poll conducted by independent pollster Pulse Asia last month while Teodoro had 5 percent. The other four candidates – Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, evangelist Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva, environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, and pro-life advocate John Carlos delos Reyes – all scored 2 percent or less. Opposition Senator Richard Gordon said he favoured imposing taxes on SMS text messages to fund increased spending on education. The Philippines is considered the text capital of the world, with about 70 million mobile phone subscribers sending out at least a billion text messages daily. “I think it's hypocritical to say we cannot raise taxes considering there's no more room in the present budget because the budget deficit is going to increase,” said Gordon, who had a 1 percent rating in the opinion poll. “The telcos have had tremendous windfall profits,” he said. The Philippines is facing a record budget deficit of 293 billion pesos ($6.3 billion), or 3.5 percent of GDP, for a second year in a row this year due to weak economic recovery and huge stimulus spending. Billionaire lawmaker Manuel “Manny” Villar, who came a close second to Aquino in the opinion poll, did not attend the debate, but has previously said state revenues needed to be increased. Former president Joseph Estrada, ranked third by Pulse Asia, also did not attend.
