Lawmakers eye tax on salted products

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers must be so desperate for revenues that they want to tax everything.

After the tax on soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages, now comes the proposal to impose an “asin” tax or a levy on salted products.

Like the sugar tax, the proposed levy on salted products is being presented as a health measure, as it aims to discourage the consumption of products laden with salt.

“Salt is a silent killer, as its consumption has a correlation with high blood pressure, which consequently leads to increased risks of having a heart attack or stroke,” proponent Rep. Scott Davies Lanete of Masbate said.

“Due to the harmful effects of salt, many countries have imposed a ‘sin tax’ on salt to deter people from consuming it. It is also a way for these states to pressure their people to adopt a healthier diet,” he said.

Lanete said the countries that did so include Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Panama, Morroco, Kenya, Jordan, Uganda, Tanzania, and Suriname.

It is time for Congress to adopt the same strict measures to protect the health and well-being of Filipinos, including imposing a tax on salted products, Lanete added.

While the tax on sugary drinks is part of a bill the House of Representatives committee on ways and means has endorsed for approval by the chamber, the salt levy proposal is still pending with the panel.

Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, committee chairman, is the bill’s principal author. He has largely adopted the administration’s so-called tax reform package put together by the Department of Finance (DOF).        

The proposed imposition on sugar-sweetened beverages is P10 per liter.

The Cua-DOF bill also seeks a P6 tax on diesel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas and bunker oil, which is used for electricity generation.

It proposes to increase levies on other oil products, including gasoline, and seeks higher taxes on cars.

It includes a proposal to reduce income tax of millions of salaried workers, corporate executives and self-employed taxpayers.

According to leftist party-list group Bayan Muna, employees and other taxpayers would end up paying more in new and increased taxes than the money they would have from reduced income tax.

The DOF figures support this contention. The finance department projects that the government would earn about P360 billion from new and higher taxes, while it would only lose P141 billion in lower income tax rates.

This means that the DOF would take at least P220 billion more from the public, including workers who would benefit from reduced income tax. 

The DOF said the additional revenue would be used to fund President Duterte’s ambitious infrastructure program, which is estimated to cost P8 trillion or the equivalent of the national budget for three years.