A coalition of labor groups, farmers, sari-sari store owners, and ambulant street vendors over the weekend claimed that the Senate version of the sin tax bill is still anti-poor despite the radical reduction in the proposed excise tax rates on alcohol and tobacco products.

The People’s Coaltion Against Regressive Taxation (PCART) said the Senate Ways and Means Committee report on the proposed measure was a victory only of the “feuding factions of the elite” since the cited report did not scrap the bill entirely.

Senator Ralph Recto heads the cited committee.

“We think that Senator Ralph Recto’s Ways and Means Committee report is a clear compromise among the ruling faction of the country’s elite. The report claims to be realistic and responsible because it pleases pro-sin tax groups and tobacco and alcohol businessmen. The feuding factions have decided that instead of fighting for the spoils of war, they might as well divide it amongst themselves” the coalition said.

PCART maintained that the bill is a regressive taxation measure.

Gie Relova of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino stressed that only ordinary people would be burdened by the imposition of the sin taxes.

“Even if the increase in tax for tobacco and alcohol products is only one peso, the taxation proposed in the bill remains regressive and anti-poor,” Relova said.

The Office of the President and other concerned government agencies have been criticizing the sin tax reform bill recently introduced by the cited Senate committee.

Under Recto’s version, the government is expected to collect P9.8 billion to P14.8 billion in revenues from tobacco products and P5.2 billion to P7 billion from alcohol products in the first year of its implementation, radically lower than the P30-billion projected by the House of Representatives.

Tobacco farmers from Northern Luzon, on the other hand, back Recto’s version, saying it is a big improvement on the House version.

They maintained, however, that the increase being proposed by Recto especially on low priced cigarettes, which makes up 60 percent of the market, is still too high.

The excise tax rates for said tobacco products would be hiked by 120 percent hike on the first year.

“We appeal to the Senators to draft a final version that sets moderate and gradual increases. Any significant drop in the volumes of low price cigarettes would seriously affect the livelihood of small tobacco farmers and workers,” the Philippine Tobacco Growers Association said.

Meanwhile, small cigarette manufacturers such as the Associated Anglo American Tobacco Corporation lauded Recto for taking into account the interests of local players like them in coming up with the committee’s excise tax proposal.

“We appreciate the fact that Sen. Recto took into account the serious concerns we raised before the committee regarding the ill effects of imposing excessively high taxes on tobacco products,” AAATC vice-president Blake Dy said.

He said that the 120 percent increase on low priced cigarettes is still a bit high but it is much better than the 700 percent increase being proposed in the House version of the bill.

Conversely, the Department of Finance and its non-government organization allies want Congress to impose a 1,000 percent excise tax hike on alcohol and tobacco products in order to generate an additional P60 billion for healthcare and assistance programs for tobacco farmers.

Recto, however, viewed the projected P60-billion additional revenue as a “leap of faith”.