Senate, House approve sin tax bill

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers on Monday approved during a bicameral conference the sin tax reform bill, which was seen to bring nearly P40 billion in revenues next year.

The measure, which seeks to impose higher excise taxes on alcoholic drinks and tobacco products, was approved in the bicameral level after lawmakers agreed to reconcile conflicting provisions of the bill's two versions.

The panel agreed to peg next year’s target revenue at P33.96 billion -- from the proposed targets of P31 billion from the House of Representatives and P39 billion from the Senate -- with a 70-30 percentage burden sharing between tobacco and alcohol products, respectively.

Other agreements approved by the panel included a four percent tax rate increase every two years, the removal of the sunset provision from the bill and the allocation of 15 percent of incremental revenue for affected farmers, with the remaining 85 percent allocated for the universal health care program of the government.

Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee and House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said they would sign their report on Tuesday.