The sin tax: Don’t fix what isn’t broken

FOR reasons that are not entirely clear, Representative Eugene Michael de Vera of the ABS (Arts, Business, and Science Professionals) party-list has filed House Bill 4144, which would modify the existing sin tax on tobacco products (under Republic Act 10351) to introduce a two-tiered tax scheme, replacing the current unitary tax.

Representatives of the nation’s tobacco farmers, the PhilTobacco Growers Association and Philippine Aromatic Tobacco Development Association, raised strong opposition to the proposed new tax, saying that tobacco is being singled out for “more than our fair share of the contribution” to sin taxes while other excisable goods are being overlooked. The decline in demand for tobacco due to the tax, the two associations said, is already creating great hardship for the farmers, which would only worsen if the tax were increased.