"We want to exempt minimum wage earners (and) we will have a decision next week," he told reporters.

Teves has scheduled several meetings with Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to discuss how best to go about it without needing amendments to any laws.

Teves said his office is prioritizing the plan to ease the tax burdens of minimum salaried employees and to exempt them from paying withholding tax, as well as remit lower income tax without going through the long process of legislation.

The DoF chief said earlier that the lower income bracket Filipinos can be free of withholding tax through administrative means.

‘We will try to do it on the basis of an administrative measure without having to go to legislation (but) only after considering the cost to government and how we will fund it," he explained.

However, Congress must enact laws exempting minimum salaried individuals from paying withholding taxes.

After the implementation of the new value added tax law last November 1, the DoF is now busy working out the resolution of other tax bills.

Teves said the government need to pass the other economic bills such as the rationalization of tax incentives to sustain fiscal gains. Presently the bill containing this law is pending in the senate.

In the meantime the standard or simplified net income taxation or SNIT scheme for self-employed individuals is another important tax administration system to improve collection. House Bill 3826, which contains this tax is slow moving.