On August 30, 2018, Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno shared his thoughts on the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the Duterte Administration before the Tax Management Association of the Philippines' (TMAP) general membership meeting at the Diamond Residences Makati.

          To rally support for the government's tax reform packages, Secretary Diokno emphasized the need to install a simpler, fairer, and more efficient tax regime conducive to economic growth and attractive to investors. "Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) will fund our development priorities, namely public infrastructure and investments on human capital," he said. "These sectors are crucial not only for our growth objectives, but more so our goal to lower poverty from 21.6% in 2015 to 14% in 2022," he added. TRAIN is projected to contribute more than P1.1 trillion to the government's coffers from 2018 to 2022. 70% of incremental revenues from TRAIN shall be earmarked for public infrastructure, with the balance going to social services.

          The Budget Secretary also marked the crucial difference of the TRAIN from previous tax reform initiatives. "This is the first time we are overhauling our tax system without the pressures of financial and economic crises. The old reforms were borne out of the need to arrest unmanageable fiscal deficits," he said.

          In closing, Sec. Diokno called on the TMAP to participate in the ambitious tax reform program of the government. "You are in a position to know that what we are doing is for the common good," he said. "We ask for your support and welcome your inputs to ensure the success of our tax reform program," he noted.

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