Progressive solons want Senate to delay approval of sin tax bill

Two progressive party-list lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Sunday called on the Senate to delay its approval of the sin tax bill, which they described as “anti-poor” and a “big threat” to tobacco farmers. Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said the Senate should devote more time to study and debate on the measure, which seeks to impose higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol products in the country. “We urge senators to continue debating and discussing the bill so they can weigh its pros and cons, and most of all, address the concerns of the sectors which will be most affected, and these are the poor. It’s not really the rich who will be mostly affected. We’re not taxing the rich here,” Ilagan said in a statement. The congresswoman added that she does not believe that passing the bill will discourage Filipinos from smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages. “The moment people are addicted to smoking or drinking, no amount of legislation could lessen that,” she said. The Senate is expected to pass its version of the bill on Monday after President Benigno Aquino III certified the measure as urgent. The bill aims to raise P40 billion to P45 billion in additional revenues—most of which will be allocated to the government’s health programs—from tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. The House version of the bill was passed last June. Improve revenue collection Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano, for his part, said the sin tax bill will have an adverse effect on the livelihood of tobacco farmers in the country. “Tobacco farmers will not benefit from the increase of retail prices of cigarettes increase due to sin tax. The sin tax, like the Value Added Tax and other regressive taxes, will not have a trickle-down effect on the public,” Mariano said in the same statement. He added that the government should just make sure that its tax collection is efficient, instead of imposing higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol products. “The government should improve and raise its revenue collection efficiency and reduce its fiscal incentives which mostly benefit foreign capitalists. In other words, you should make the taxation system progressive,” he said. The party-list lawmakers likewise proposed that the government allocate more funds to the agriculture sector, which he said has been receiving a “minuscule” portion of the national budget for the past years. — BM, GMA News