Tobacco farmers appeal to P-Noy not to raise taxes on cigarettes

Manila, Philippines - Tobacco farmers are appealing to President Aquino not to slap additional taxes on tobacco products which could lead to the loss of livelihood for thousands of small tobacco growers.

 Tobacco farmers noted that all administrations had promised to improve the government’s fiscal position by expanding the tax base.

 However, the tobacco farmers pointed out, the government seems to have decided to raise the excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products, while refusing to impose additional taxes on bigger industries like the petroleum, telecommunications, banking and finance sectors, they pointed out.

The Philippine Tobacco Growers Association (PTGA) is questioning why other big industries remain untouchable, lamenting that government opts to pick on small farmers.

PTGA president Winston Uy cited reports quoting Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima as admitting to the existence of discrepancies in the list of big taxpayers of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

The big taxpayers, Uy noted, do not pay the right taxes which could run into billions of pesos.

 “Kaming mga nagtatabako ang laging pinag-iinitan. (We in the tobacco industry are always the target,)” the group complained.

The PTGA said that tobacco products are already over-taxed and subject to regular tax increases every two years since 2005.

“Wala na bang iba kayo makita? (Is there nobody else (to tax)?” Arnel Salagubang of the PTGA-Pangasinan Chapter said.

“All administrations have miserably failed to increase revenues by expanding the tax base, and what they do is to continuously burden industries already paying very high taxes by penalizing them with even higher taxes,” the Cagayan Tobacco Producers Association (CTPA )said.

The tobacco farmers bewailed the DOF’s support for bills filed by Representatives Henedina Abad of Batanes and Niel Tupas of Iloilo calling for steep hikes in the excise tax on tobacco products which would increase cigarette prices by 82.9 percent.

The tobacco farmers also oppose the bill of Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez that would effectively raise prices of cigarettes by 72.2 percent.

The tobacco farmers asked Suarez how he would feel if their congressmen filed bills imposing taxes on coconuts.

 Suarez’s bill, the tobacco farmers said, would deprive them of their source of livelihood.

The farmers warned that steep increases in the prices of cigarettes would lead to an increase in illicit activity like smuggling and counterfeiting.