Cigarette excise tax take drops to P163 B

MANILA, Philippines – Excise tax collection from cigarettes and other tobacco products recorded a decrease in 2016 due to lower consumption, as well as illicit trade and tax evasion, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said.

During a Senate hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, BIR deputy commissioner Nestor Valeroso said initial data showed that excise tax collection in products amounted to P163.5 billion in 2016, 3.28 percent higher than the 2015 figure of P158.3 billion.

Of this amount, collections from tobacco products contributed P91.6 billion, almost eight percent lower than last year’s collection of P99.5 billion.

“There was a reduce in the volume of removal (from factories),” Valeroso told reporters on the sidelines of the hearing.

Valeroso said higher tobacco prices as well as the implementation of the graphic health warning, helped curb the consumption of tobacco products during the period.

He also cited the impact of smuggling and the use and circulation of fake tax stamps to total revenue collection.