Philip Morris employees protest Senate hearing on sin tax reform

About 150 employees of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC) held a protest action in front of the Senate building minutes before the first Senate hearing on sin tax reform. The tobacco operators of Fortune, Hope and Champion – also members of the PMFTC Labor Union – chanted “Excise tax, ibasura!” and “Kabuhayan, ipaglaban!” Union vice president Rodel Rubias said that the employees are not against the sin tax reform bill; what they are protesting is the one-tier taxation system, which they say would make the tax imposed on local and foreign products equal by 2015. “Nandito kami [bilang] show of force sa pagtutol sa pagtupad ng [one-tier] tax sa tobacco products. Hindi naman kaya ng local products na lumaban sa foreign pag pinantay ang tax,” Rubias told GMA News Online. “Bilang domino effect, bagsak rin at hihina ang local producers,” Rubias said. The labor union leader added that sin tax reform should maintain the multi-tier system, which he called a “progressive” and “responsible” taxation.- BM, GMA News