Raymond “Mon” Abrea, chief tax advisor of the Asian Consulting Group (ACG), is mounting a dual-front campaign in 2026: wooing foreign investors while pressing for sweeping tax reforms to shield the Philippine middle class.
Abrea is leading the 2026 Philippine Investment Mission themed “The Philippines Rises. The World Invests,” in partnership with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, bringing a message of fiscal stability to global business hubs. His recent tour has taken him through Sydney, South Korea and New York, where he has sought to reassure investors that the country remains a viable destination despite political headwinds at home.
In June, Abrea traveled to Paris for talks with officials of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on the implementation of the Global Minimum Tax in the Philippines, a policy meant to ensure multinational digital giants pay their fair share of taxes in local markets. At the same time, he has been a prominent media voice explaining new obligations for foreign digital service providers under Republic Act No. 12023, stressing that value-added tax on digital transactions cannot be avoided by invoking tax treaties.
On the domestic front, Abrea has sounded the alarm that the country’s middle class is “being squeezed to death,” noting that salaried compensation earners shoulder about 82 percent of personal income tax collections while high-net-worth individuals contribute only 4 percent. He is lobbying lawmakers to raise the tax-free income threshold to ₱1 million by 2028 to help workers cope with inflation and build savings and investments.
Frustrated by what he calls systemic bottlenecks and a lack of accountability in high-profile probes such as the Pharmally scandal, Abrea has publicly vowed to no longer participate in Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, instead calling for a “ground-up” structural overhaul to curb extortion and corruption.
Abrea’s work has earned him global recognition. In October 2025, he was named among the 100 Most Influential Filipinos in the World at The Outstanding Filipino Awards (TOFA) held in Las Vegas, honored for his leadership in global tax policy reform, anti-corruption advocacy and efforts to promote good fiscal governance.
