Cigarette tax take up 8% to P147.5B in 2019

Cigarette excise collections in­­creased 8 percent to P147.5 billion in 2019 on the back of higher rates slapped under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act.

Latest data from the Department of Finance showed that taxes paid by cigarette firms last year rose from P136.5 billion in 2018, the TRAIN law’s first year of implementation.

Cigarette excise cornered more than half, or 54.8 percent, of the total sin tax collections worth P269.1 billion in 2019.

Sin products also included alcoholic drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages.

The higher excise levied on sugary drinks were also mandated under the TRAIN law.

For cigarettes, e-cigarettes and alcohol, another round of excise increases took effect on Jan. 1 under two laws—Republic Act No. 11346 and RA No. 11467.From cigarettes alone, additional excise collections worth P14.9 billion were expected this year with the implementation of RA No. 11346 in full swing, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said last week.

Meanwhile, the higher levy on alcohol, heated tobacco and vapes under RA No. 11467 will raise an additional P22.2 billion this year.

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