Iconic heavyweight motorcycles from Harley Davidson may soon be rumbling out of the first showroom in the Philippines on Edsa. Construction of the showroom near the Mercedes Benz and Chrysler dealerships in Greenhills is under way and the Harley Davidson home in the Philippines is tentatively scheduled to open to the public on March 2.
The Philippines started the new year with a slightly higher inflation due to an increase in food and power prices and the implementation of the “sin tax” law.
With the increase in prices of liquor in the market following the passage of Republic Act No. 10351 or the Sin Tax Law, a “lambanog” producer expects a rise in sales of coconut-based liquor.
A group of manufacturers of alcoholic beverages has asked the courts to stop the Department of Finance and Bureau of Internal Revenue from implementing a new regulation that purportedly taxes both raw materials and the finished product, resulting in double taxation.
Some of the country’s biggest liquor manufacturers have asked a Manila court to stop the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue from enforcing the so-called Sin Tax Law, which they claim constitutes “double taxation” against local alcohol producers.
Cigarette maker Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) on Friday appealed to its distributors and retailers to sell its products at pre-sin tax recommended retail prices, saying it has not yet raised the prices of its cigarette products.
Smokers who patronize lower-priced cigarette brands will have to pay more to get their fix starting next week as the Bureau of Internal Revenue has issued new rules on the implementation of revised excise tax rates under the sin tax reform law.
Health-wise, things look good for the coming year. We can’t have a more auspicious start than this. The ‘sin tax’ bill has just been signed into law five days before Christmas, and anytime soon, President Aquino is expected to sign the approved reproductive health (RH) bill into yet another law.
The enactment into law of the controversial “sin” tax bill may be all that is needed to persuade international rating agencies to immediately upgrade the Philippines’ credit standing to an investment grade.
The Department of Finance (DoF)-backed reform on the so-called sin taxes would raise the ratio of excise tax to retail prices of tobacco and alcohol to international levels, as recommended by the World Bank.
