Hike tobacco excise tax – WHOJeremias Paul Jr., a former undersecretary at the Department of Finance who now leads the World Health Organization (WHO)’s fiscal policy unit, said raising tobacco taxes would also help stifle demand and, eventually, minimize COVID infections with severe symptoms. MANILA, Philippines — The government should consider increasing excise taxes on tobacco products to at least 75 percent of the average retail price to generate additional revenue for COVID-19 measures. Raising excise taxes on tobacco products is a proven effective and cost-effective measure to prevent NCDs (non-communicable diseases),” he said. At the end of the day, he said the excise tax should result in price hikes that will force buyers to rethink consumption. Last year, revenue agencies collected P148.45 billion in tobacco taxes, exceeding their target of P139.12 billion by nearly seven percent.

Source: Philippine Star September 27, 2021 16:02 UTC