Sin tax bill has no blessing from Aquino, says lawmaker
A lawmaker from the tobacco-growing Ilocos region on Tuesday claimed a sin tax bill being pushed by administration allies in Congress did not have the blessing of President Benigno Aquino III.
“Malacañang recommended no bill to support in this committee,” said Ilocos Sur Representative Eric Singson Jr. noting that House Bill 5727 authored by Cavite Representative Joseph E.A. Abaya and backed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Department of Health (DOH) was just one of 12 pending bills pushing for tax reforms in cigarettes and alcohol products.
Singson, the vice chairman of the House ways and means committee, told members of the committee that he personally inquired with the Malacañang officials, including the Office of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, to verify whether President Aquino had endorsed HB 5727. He said he got a negative answer. Abaya did not reply to the Inquirer’s query.
Singson said that this meant that Malacañang was noncommittal on the issue of tax reforms. “The President himself declared in his campaign that he would not support any tax increases. I guess he is just living up to his promise,” said Singson.
HB 5727 proposes to replace the four-tier tax system on cigarettes and alcoholic drinks with a unitary system which tends to favor high-priced, imported brands over low-priced, local brands (the tax on the cheapest cigarette would increase from P2.72 tax per pack P30 per pack).
Singson said that the government has apparently run out of ideas on how to boost its revenues so it has turned its sights again to liquor and tobacco products.
Article continues after this advertisementKasangga party-list Representative Teodorico Haresco expressed support for the adoption of a more simple tax rate for cigarettes and liquor to boost government revenues. Haresco claimed that whatever losses would be incurred by industry players would be more than offset by higher and stable revenues, and increased confidence from investors who have complained about the undue tax advantage of some industry players.
