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Commuters traverse a footbridge with the Makati City skyline in the background. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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Makati City Skyline

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<p>MANILA — The controversial Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) &quot;punishes&quot; working and middle-class Filipinos, ACT Teachers party-list said Sunday, as it renewed the call for a wealth tax on billionaires.</p><p>The Department of Finance has clarified that CMEPA does not impose new taxes and is meant to &quot;correct an unfair system&quot;.</p><p>In a statement, ACT Teachers paty-list Rep. Antonio Tinio described CMEPA as a &quot;predatory taxation scheme&quot; that he said targeted the saving and income of ordinary Filipinos &quot;while letting the wealthy off the hook.&quot;</p><p>He said that the government already taxes income and consumption.</p><p>&quot;At ngayon pati nag-impok ka, lahat bubuwisan ka ng gobyerno. Tapos sasabihin, kulang sa financial literacy ang Pilipino,&quot; Tinio said, noting that the Makabayan bloc had rejected the measure in the House of Representatives.</p><p>(Now, even when you save, the government taxes you. Then they say Filipinos lack financial literacy.)</p><p>&quot;Instead of giving incentives to those with modest savings, the government targets them while billionaires and big corporations continue to enjoy tax breaks and loopholes,&quot; he also said.</p><div><strong>DOF: LAW LEVELS PLAYING FIELD</strong></div><p>Posts saying CMEPA imposes a new tax on savings made the rounds on social media this week, prompting the Department of Finance (DOF), <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/17/mepa-sparks-uproar-but-experts-say-it-s-just-fair-play-2240">experts</a>, and <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/18/20-percent-tax-on-deposits-not-new-bpi-1536">banks</a> to clarify the claims.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/17/dof-clarifies-no-new-taxes-on-bank-interest-1753">20% tax on bank savings? DOF, experts debunk CMEPA misinterpretations</a></div><p>Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said Thursday that only the interest earned from short-term deposits — such as checking and savings accounts, and not the deposit — gets taxed. </p><p>This system has been in place for decades, in accordance with the Tax Reform Act of 1997, he said.</p><p>But to level the playing field for all Filipinos, the tax on interest income from long-term time deposits, or those parked in the bank for over five years, has also been set at 20 percent.</p><p>Before CMEPA, time deposits with maturity periods of more than five years were exempt from interest income tax, which the DOF and some tax experts say favor the wealthy minority.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/25/world-s-richest-1-pct-gained-40-trillion-in-a-decade-oxfam-832">World&#x27;s richest 1 percent gained $40 trillion in a decade: Oxfam</a></div><p>Tinio, in the statement, suggested that the Marcos Jr. administration junk CMEPA and the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/11/11/economic-team-hails-signing-of-create-more-act-1259">CREATE Law</a> — which enhances the country&#x27;s fiscal incentives regime — and instead support a billionaire wealth tax if it &quot;truly wants an equitable tax policy.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Imposing a wealth tax on the top 1% can yield billions for social services, education, and health, directly benefitting the majority of Filipinos living in poverty,&quot; he said.</p><p>Tinio said that they would refile the Super-Rich Tax, which seeks to pass a 3% wealth tax on billionaires.</p><p>He said the measure &quot;could generate at least P98 billion—enough to provide cash subsidies for millions of poor families.&quot;</p><p>&quot;While 20 million Filipinos are poor, the government refuses to tax the billionaires who have the real capacity to contribute funds to the nation. It&#x27;s time to tax the billionaires, not ordinary Filipinos,&quot; he said.</p><p>Imposing a wealth tax on the richest 1 percent in the country <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/video/business/01/17/23/imposing-wealth-tax-an-uphill-climb-says-ex-bir-chief">could prove difficult due to challenges</a> such as the bank secrecy law, former Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares had said.</p><p>&quot;Mahirap mag-impose ng bagong taxes, kasi hindi magandang pakinggan. Pag mag-impose ka ng bagong taxes, marami kang malalaking tao na kalaban, so mahirap,&quot; she said.</p><p>(It&#x27;s difficult to impose new taxes, it doesn&#x27;t sound good. When you impose a new tax, you&#x27;re facing powerful people, so it&#x27;s difficult.)</p><p>&quot;Whether it’s time or not, anything that imposes new taxes is going to be an uphill climb.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/07/20/22/tax-billionaires-not-the-public-think-tank">Marcos urged to tax billionaires, not the public as govt seeks boost in revenues</a></div><div><strong>— with Benise Balaoing and Andrea Taguines, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong></strong><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vX9xSXOoBwY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The controversial Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) "punishes" working and middle-class Filipinos, ACT Teachers party-list said Sunday, renewing calls for a wealth tax on billionaires.</p>

The controversial Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) "punishes" working and middle-class Filipinos, ACT Teachers party-list said Sunday, renewing calls for a wealth tax on billionaires.

Tax on savings interest sparks renewed call to tax billionaires instead

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Tax on savings interest sparks renewed call to tax billionaires instead

ABS-CBN News

Published July 20, 2025 12:09 PM PHT

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Updated July 20, 2025 12:23 PM PHT

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