MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government aims to boost annual revenue from tobacco and liquor taxes by as much as P139.33 billion ($3.3 billion) by 2016, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said.
A law to apply a uniform tax rate on all brands of cigarettes, distilled spirits and fermented liquor and automatically adjust taxes on the items to reflect changing prices will add P60.63 billion of revenue next year, with the additional income rising each year to P139.33 billion in 2016, according to a document obtained from the finance department late yesterday.
“It’s a health concern,” Beltran said in an interview in his office in Manila yesterday. “We want to curb consumption of these products. At the same time, the funds raised will be used for a universal health-care plan that is especially targeted towards the poor.”
President Benigno S. Aquino III, who identified the bill last week as among the 13 items he wanted lawmakers to approve this year, aims to expand access to health care in a nation where the World Bank estimates one out of four people lives on less than $1.25 a day. The World Health Organization urged the Philippines last year to increase taxes on tobacco to reduce its use among an estimated 17.3 million smokers.
Currently, brands are taxed at different rates. Revenue from alcohol and cigarette levies on companies including Ginebra San Miguel Inc., Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. and Fortune Tobacco Corp. totaled 55 billion pesos in 2010, Beltran said.
The bill will treat all cigarette manufacturers equally and remove a bias against new brands, Beltran said. It will link the tax rates to inflation indexes, he said.
The government’s health care plan, which includes subsidizing costs for 10.7 million poor families and improving hospital facilities and equipment, is estimated to cost 682.1 billion pesos from 2012 to 2016.
==============================================================================
By: Karl Lester M. Yap
Source: Manila Bulletin, Aug. 23, 2011
To view the original article, click here.
Comment here