Senator Pia Cayetano on Sunday, June 15 expressed strong support for calls to uphold the mandatory allocation of sin tax revenues to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) following the agency’s zero budget in the 2025 national appropriations. Cayetano joined the call after a petition...
The Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Monday, May 19 expressed firm belief that reducing taxes is not the solution to help curb illicit tobacco trade but that strengthening enforcement against such activities is still the best course. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the ways and means...
With illegal tobacco incidence reaching an all-time high of 18.2 percent in 2024, Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) has urged the Marcos administration to recalibrate tax rates to help reverse the declining state of the tobacco industry. The latest industry data showed that illicit cigarettes...
For decades, the sales patterns in the Philippines' sari-sari stores have offered a reliable micro-level view of consumer behavior and local economic conditions. However, recent data indicates a shift in these long-established trends, with a downturn in the sales of frequently purchased items like...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called out online shopping platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, Tiktok Shop, Facebook Market, and Instagram, for allowing the sale of illicit tobacco and vapor products. At a recent Senate hearing, Gatchalian lamented that these online shopping applications have...
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. expressed openness to a proposed moratorium on the annual increase in excise taxes on tobacco products, provided that the agency's tax collection targets are revised accordingly. "One issue that we will be [facing] moving forward if...
There are 9.5 million smokers from 2021 to 2023, according to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, citing data from a survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI). Sen. Win Gatchalian resumes on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, the Committee on Ways and Means hearing on the rising...
FOR THURSDAY Now is the time to raise so-called "sin" taxes slapped on tobacco, alcoholic and sugary drinks as these industries' global sales recovered quickly post-pandemic, according to the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD). "The generally harmful impact of the pandemic...
Taxes to protect and fund universal health care (UHC)—such as those slapped on so-called "sin" products like cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, and sweets—still have room for further increases, according to a global task force. "Health taxes continue to be underutilized despite the...
The Department of Finance (DOF) is projecting an uptick in revenues from "sin" products next year, driven by increased collections from alcoholic beverages. Data from the DOF showed that excise tax collections from tobacco and alcohol are estimated to reach P278.97 billion in 2025, an eight percent...
E-cigarette and vape manufacturers and distributors in the country are in favor of the Department of Finance's (DOF) efforts to improve tax collection efficiency and pursue tax evaders, including those involved in the vapor products sector. In a statement, Joey Dulay, Philippine E-cigarette...
AnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes says there is a need to increase the so-called "sin taxes" being imposed in the country. Reyes, vice chairman of the House Committee on Health, said that amending the Sin Tax Reform Law of 2012 to this effect would help fund Universal Health Care (UHC) and...
