The Philippine Association of Sugar Refiners Inc. (PASRI) said addressing revenue collection inefficiency “presents a win-win solution” than increasing taxes on sweetened beverages.
PASRI joins calls by other stakeholders in opposing the Department of Finance’s plan to increase excise tax of beverages using sugar but to retain the tax rate on beverages using high fructose corn syrup.
Under the sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) tax provision of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, beverages that use sugar are imposed with an excise tax of P6 per liter while those that use HFCS are slapped P12 per liter.
“After taking effect in 2018, the TRAIN Law has provided the national government earnings of about P40 billion a year from the excise taxes on SSBs. Notwithstanding this huge contribution by the sector, reports about inefficiencies in tax collection by the government continue to persist,” said Renato Cabati, PASRI president, in a letter to the President dated July 7.
Cabati said addressing such inefficiencies within the revenue collection “presents a win-win solution where the much-needed revenues are raised while avoiding the imposition of an additional tax burden on an industry which can ill afford it at this critical time.”
PASRI added since the imposition of tax on SSB, sugar per capita consumption has declined from 35.99 kilograms (kg) in 2017 to 28.98 kg in 2022 or a 19.5 percent drop.
