Senators agree on 10 percent vanity tax

Instead of 20 percent, senators unanimously agreed on Monday to just impose a 10 percent excise tax on vanity or cosmetics procedures.

Under the tax reform measure, an additional 20 percent tax is being proposed on non-essential goods and services such as cosmetics procedures and surgeries.

But Senate President Ralph Recto wanted to delete the said provision, which was strongly opposed by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

“We raise an objection on the proposal to totally delete the vanity or cosmetic tax because it is, in our view, totally unjust and violates the principle of progressive taxation,” Drilon said.

“In lieu of the objection, may I propose an amendment to Senator Recto, who is the proponent of the amendment to delete the cosmetic or vanity tax, may I propose that instead of 20 percent tax as proposed by the committee, that the same be amended to 10 percent, instead of totally deleting it…” he said.

While insisting on his amendment to remove the vanity tax, Recto recognized that many of his colleagues wanted to impose tax on cosmetics procedures.

“In principle, I already mentioned all my reasons why I’m against it but I see that many of our colleagues want to have a tax on cosmetic procedures so that their wives or husbands possibly will not have a cosmetic procedure, hindi na sila gagastos masyado,” he said.

“Having said that Mr. President, I’m amenable to 5 percent,” Recto said.

But Drilon did not back down and insisted on his own amendment.

In the end, Recto acceded to Drilon and agreed to impose a 10 percent vanity tax.

The chamber has yet to approve the tax reform measure, which was already approved in the House of Representatives.

Last week, the senators had already removed the tax vanity in the bill but it was restored also on Drilon’s motion. /je

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