The Philippine Sugar Millers Association (PSMA) has expressed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. their concern over the proposal of the Department of Finance (DOF) to increase excise tax of beverages using sugar but to retain the tax rate on beverages using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Under the sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) tax provision of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion 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.
“Increasing the excise tax on sugar-using beverages will only serve to promote the use of HFCS in beverages but will not benefit the entire local food industry. This is because HFCS is used as sweetener primarily and only in beverages and not in production of food products such as bread, pandesal, etc.,” said Pablo Lobregat, PSMA president, in a letter to the President dated July 6.
“In effect, the proposed increased in SSB tax on sugar will benefit a small segment of beverage manufacturers — composed of multinational corporations — at the expense of Filipino farmers and workers who are saddled with a higher sugar excise tax rate,” Lobregat added.
PSMA said if the government wants to increase tax collection, the DOF must intensify efforts to ensure compliance of the existing two-tier SSB excise tax structure.
The group also opposed DOF’s plans to adopt an “open sugar importation policy” as it will only benefit industrial users at the expense of farmers, millers and producers.
