The Senate has taken the Sin Tax Bill to the homebound stretch as they finally settled on the amount of P40 Billion to be collected from higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol. They also came up with what the majority perceive to be a more equitable sharing of burden between the tobacco and alcohol industries at 60% share for tobacco and 40% share for alcohol.
Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., however, aired his discontent over the proposed sharing. Being a chief supporter of the Ilocano tobacco industry, Marcos is concerned of the effect of this tax scheme on the local tobacco farmers and growers. He also believes that the assumptions and computations used to arrive at these numbers are unrealistic and aims to propose a new formula.
Further to these developments, the Senate has also agreed to move the implementation of unitary tax rates on cigarettes from the originally proposed fourth year of implementation, to the fifth year.
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile also proposed to include a clause that requires locally manufactured foreign brands to source 20 percent of their raw materials from local suppliers. But Senator Franklin Drilon notes that this has to carefully studied in consideration with the country’s “commitment on GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) in compliance with the WTO (World Trade Organization).”
The Sin Tax Bill is due for second and third reading before the senate performs the deliberation on the national budget, Interaksyon.com reported.
