Marcos announces suspension of excise tax on LPG, kerosene

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday announced the suspension of excise tax on petroleum products, particularly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene.

He made the announcement in a press conference in Malacanang.

“Binawasan natin ang buwis sa produktong petrolyo na direktang ginagamit sa pangaraw-araw na buhay. So, sa ilalim ng kapangyarihan na binigay sa ating mga batas, tinanggal ko na ang excise tax sa LPG at sa kerosene. Ang katumbas nito ay P3.36 ang bawas ng kada kilo ng LPG. Halos P37.00 sa isang tanke ang mababawasan ng presyo,” Marcos said.

(We reduced the taxes on essential products that are directly used in everyday life. So, under the authority granted to us by law, I have removed the excise tax on LPG and kerosene. This is equivalent to P3.30, P3.36 reduction per kilo of LPG. That’s almost P37.00 less per tank.)

“At P5.65 kada litro ng kerosene. Ibig sabihin magbababa ang gastos sa pagluluto at sa araw-araw na pangangailangan. Ibig sabihin magbababa ang gastos sa pagluluto at sa araw-araw na pangangailangan,” he added.

(And P5.65 per liter for kerosene. This means the cost of cooking and daily necessities will go down. In other words, expenses for cooking and everyday needs will decrease.)

Meanwhile, the fate of the excise tax on diesel and gasoline will be discussed at the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) meeting on Tuesday.

Suspension of VAT on petroleum products

According to Marcos, he will examine the possible removal of VAT on petroleum products but noted that the funds collected from it are being used for other purposes.

“The VAT on petroleum products, we are going to get a windfall profit from that because tumaas ‘yung presyo ng krudo (Because crude oil prices increased). And because of that, all the importations we will have at the present VAT rate, we will get a—we will get funds—extra funds from that,” he said.

“If we take away the VAT on petroleum products, it will only help the petroleum market. What we need is funding to help the entire society. Hindi puwedeng—’yun lang—titingnan lang natin is the(We cannot just look at) petroleum, petroleum, petroleum,” he continued.

Currently, Marcos said the cost-benefit analysis between VAT collections and the benefit to the public still favors the government collecting VAT and using the extra funds to provide subsidies and other forms of assistance. /gsg

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