Senate could pass sin tax bill by year’s end, says Recto

Senator Ralph Recto. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Ralph Recto on Wednesday expressed confidence Senate will be able to pass the sin tax bill by the end of the year.

“I’m very optimistic,” Recto told reporters in a chance interview after the committee hearing of the Senate committee on food and agriculture.

Recto said that the Senate committee on ways and means would begin its first hearing on sin taxes on Thursday next week.

The sin tax bill seeks to boost revenues from taxes on tobacco and alcoholic beverages, to augment government funding for health services.

“It is my duty to pass this measure, a fair measure, taking into account the interest of all stakeholders,” Recto said.

He said the bill would be tackled in the Senate between October and November so that it would not coincide with budget deliberations set in September.

The Sin Tax bill or House Bill 5727, a proposed measure seeking to increase taxes on tobacco and alcoholic beverages, has been approved by the House of Representatives before it adjourned sine die last June.