Senators have agreed on a P40-billion revenue target for the bill seeking to increase the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products.
During Monday's session, Senate Bill 3299 or the Sin Tax Reform bill sponsor Sen. Franklin Drilon said the senators agreed that the aggregate sin tax revenues for the first year for both cigarettes and liquor shall be P40 billion.
"The P40 billion will be split on the basis of a historical split..with the alchohol answering for 40 percent of the P40 billion and the cigarette 60 percent of the P40 billion," he said.
Drilon said the 40 percent for alcohol will be divided between fermented liquor and distilled spirits on the basis of historical allocation.
"Historically, mas mabigat naman talaga, mas malaki ang share ng tobacco and pangalawa, dahilan po sa ito ay health issue, health measure," he told reporters after the session.
On the other hand, senators agreed on a unitary rate for cigarettes at the start of the fifth year of the bill's implementation. The initial proposal was at the start of the fourth year.
"It was a compromise," he said.
The terms agreed on by majority of the senators were ratified during Monday's session.
"Now that agreement was ratified by the plenary and therefore tomorrow [Tuesday], we will present and vote on second and third reading a revised version which will reflect those aggregates that we describe on the record," Drilon said.
"It will be passed because we have arrived at the aggregate amounts that must be generated by this measure so there is no more issue as to how much it should be. I am not disappointed because from the very start we are targeting P40 billion and one day postponement will not harm us," he added.
Senators Joker Arroyo and Bongbong Marcos, however, manifested that they did not agree with the consensus of the majority.
"P40 billion is not a figure that is a realistic one that will be collected by the BIR," said Marcos.
He even earlier said that 18,000 farmers stand to lose their livelihood because of the measure.
Aside from this, he also warned of a possible increase of smuggling incidents in the country if the measure is passed into law.
Sen. Ralph Recto, who was replaced as Senate ways and means committee chair by Drilon, had also said he doubts the government will be able to reach the P40-billion revenue target. He also warned the scheme may result in job losses.
But on Monday, Recto said he will abid by the decision of the majority.
What's important now, he said, is that taxpayers see where the revenue generated from this measure will go.
"Ang mahalaga sa akin, saan gagastusin ito," he said.
The senators were also supposed to adopt the proposal of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile that at least 20 percent of the raw materials used to manufacture cigarettes shall be sourced locally.
But Sen. Teofisto Guingona said this may be in violation of the GATT pact.
Drilon said they will thresh this out on Tuesday before approving the bill.
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