Global OFW group Migrante has started an online petition seeking the removal of the 0.15 percent government tax and bank levies on remittances sent by migrant workers.

Migrante forgot to add that also affected by these onerous and unfair charges are the home-based entrepreneurs who do online jobs for clients from across the world. These “netrepreneurs” receive payment through the same remittance channels.

In a statement, Migrante chair Connie Bragas Regalado said:

While government through remittance taxes and big business, specifically banks, telephone carriers and other financial institutions are enjoying huge profits, OFWs are tightening their belts even more just to ensure that the average $200 that they send to their families can bring enough food to the tables.

An initial study conducted by Migrante International revealed that for every $200.00 remittance sent every month, at least $15- 22 in servicefees are charged. With 10 million OFWs sending this minimum, $1B are earned by the banks on a monthly basis alone.

On the other hand, not only have the billions of dollars worth of remittances been used by government to keep the economy afloat, but it also directly profits from taxes imposed on remittances, such as the 0.15% documentary stamp tax for every remittance transaction.

For every billion dollar remitted monthly, government is able to collect an average of $1.5M or P62M. This is apart from all the other fees that government charges even before the ofws leave the country.

Regalado said that the scrapping of remittance charges and taxes is but a just demand. She said that this predatory practice is practicallyfeeding off the blood, sweat and tears of millions of OFWs.

Sign the petition here.