Sin tax collections hit P39-B in Jan-June

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P38.54 billion excise taxes on sin products – tobacco and alcohol – in the first 6 months of 2013, P12.15 billion or 46.06% more than the amount collected in the same period of 2012.

The P12.15 billion increase was less than half of the expected P34 billion additional revenues that the government aims to generate in the first year of implementation of the sin tax reform law.

President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act 10351 in December 2012 amid a strong industry lobby that kept cigarettes and liquor cheap in the Philippines. The law, which raised the prices of tobacco and alcohol products through higher excise taxes, was implemented on Jan. 1, 2013.

The additional revenues will be spent for the Aquino administration’s universal health care program and tobacco farmers’ livelihood.

Below is the breakdown of the excise tax collections during the first semester:

• tobacco products: P22.38 billion, up 53.14% or P7.77 billion more than a year ago
• alcohol products: P16.16 billion, up 37.27% or P4.39 billion more

The BIR, which accounts for about 3/4 of the country’s revenues, targets to collect P1.272 trillion in 2013, higher than its original goal of P1.238 trillion. The goal was hiked to take into account additional sin tax collections. – Rappler.com