DOF eyes reform on sin taxes

FILE: Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III (Photo: KING RODRIGUEZ/ Presidential Photo)

MANILA – – Officials of the Department of Finance (DOF) are set to submit to Congress by end-January 2018 the proposed Package 2 plus  aimed at raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol, mining, coal and casinos.

This was announced by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III in his speech during the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) 68th inaugural meeting  in Shangri-La  at The Fort Tuesday.

The hike in  sin taxes, or those for tobacco and alcohol, was included in the first package of the proposed tax reform program but was not part of those approved.

In 2012, lawmakers approved the reform in the country’s sin taxes, with excise tax on cigarettes alone to increase to PHP12 per pack in 2013, PHP15 in 2014, PHP18 in 2015, PHP21 in 2016 and PHP30 in 2017.

By 2018, tax rates on cigarettes are mandated to rise by four percent every year through revenue regulations issued by the DOF Secretary.

In an interview by journalists after the  MAP event, the Finance chief explained that increasing sin tax rates is really part of the plan.

He said sin taxes “were supposed to be reviewed in toto but actually what they only adjusted is the cigarette tax.”

“So there is still the alcohol tax that has not been reviewed. And according to the original sin tax law that should have been reviewed by the Congress,” he said.

Dominguez said there are currently two bills in the Senate aimed at increasing cigarette taxes.

He was referring to the measures filed by Senate Manny Pacquiao, who wants to increase cigarette tax from PHP30 per pack to PHP60 per pack and hike annual excise tax from four percent to nine percent; and that of Sen. JV Ejercito, who wants to raise the tax to PHP90 per pack.

Dominguez said they have informed the lawmakers that “if they intend to put it we will help them with it.

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He added that “there are other non-tax measures that we might be able to put in.”

“But again we will discuss it with them,” he said.

Regarding tax on mining, the Finance Secretary said the state gets revenues from mining excise taxes and other fees and these, he said, have to be rationalized.

Taxes on properties also need to be rationalized, he said, citing that assessment of local government units (LGUs) on the value of property taxes are usually low.

“So we are going to propose that the national government makes the assessment but the rate is determined by the local government so there is still autonomy,” he said.

“If they want to make it zero they can make it zero. But we want to say that the value, the assessed value should be in accordance with international standards. Right now it’s not,” he added.