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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Monday, May 22, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages will further bring the sugar industry down, according to the Sugar Alliance of the Philippines (SAP).
“This is double-whammy as far as we are concerned, and we have sent representations to both houses of Congress to hear our appeal,” said SAP spokesperson Atty. Dino Yulo.
Excise taxes to be imposed on sugar-sweetened beverages and petroleum products were included in the proposed tax reform package, which already got past the House of Representatives committee level.
Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Stephen Paduano expressed opposition to this. This will “jack up the prices of beverages, including commonly used products like three-in-one coffee,” local media reports quoted him as saying.
“We are aware that this has been certified urgent by the administration [so] that our fiscal standing will not be affected by the proposed reforms in income taxes,” said Yulo.
“However, we appeal that the sugar industry be spared from this, considering the present situation we are in due to the unabated entry of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS),” he added.
Representatives from the Visayan bloc were working to reduce the proposed tax, Yulo said.
If the sugar industry cannot be spared, Yulo said they hope to be given “at least a five- to six-year exemption from this,” or, at the very least, the imposition of excise taxes be made “staggered.”
With a P2-billion funding as provided for under the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA), sugar producers were only starting to “modernize” to be “more productive and globally competitive,” said Yulo.
Imposing excise taxes on sweetened beverages will “defeat the purpose of the fund coming from the government,” he said.
According to Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (3rd District, Negros Occidental), 15 percent from excise tax revenues will amount to around P7 billion, which — added on top of the SIDA fund — may “hasten the 10-year development plan for the industry,” said Yulo.
“However, we have not really taken off from the SIDA implementation, and this tax reform, which is eyed to be implemented soon, will probably hurt the sugar industry badly,” he said./PN
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