House panel OKs bill raising tax on beer, wine, alcohol

MANILA, Philippines — The House ways and means panel on Tuesday took less than an hour to approve a bill raising the “sin tax” on alcoholic products, a high-priority measure that the chamber passed in 2018 but was not enacted on time.

By a 43-0 vote, the committee chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda adopted for plenary consideration House Bill No. 1026 adjusting the tax rate on distilled spirits, wines and fermented liquors, a move seen to yield P110.3 billion in revenue for the government until 2024.

The bill will slap a higher ad valorem tax on certain classes of alcoholic products at staggered rates from 2019 to 2022, with corresponding yearly increases beginning in 2023.

‘Negative effect’

In his explanatory note of HB 1026, Salceda said Congress should pass the sin tax measure to discourage alcohol consumption and “to make the consumers bear the cost of [its] negative effect on other people not consuming the product.”

According to the proposal, the ad valorem tax imposed on distilled spirits shall be increased from 20 percent to 22 percent.

Specific tax rates per proof liter shall be imposed with P5 increments every year until 2022—from P30 per proof liter in 2019, to P45 in 2022.

From 2023 onward, the rate shall be increased by 7 percent annually.

The bill also seeks to impose a 15-percent ad valorem and a single specific tax of P650 per liter on sparkling wines.

Still wines and carbonated wines containing 14 percent of alcohol or less will have a P40 tax, while those with 25 percent alcohol content or less will be taxed P80.

An annual 7-percent increase shall be imposed for wines, starting 2020.

The tax on beer and other fermented liquors shall be raised from P23.50 per liter to P28 per liter starting in January.