Phillipines: Farmer Leader Favors Passage of Propose Sin Tax Hike

Source from:  Philippine Information Agency‎  11/29/2012

A leader of one of the country's biggest tobacco farmers' organizations expressed his favorable comment on the passage of Senator Franklin Drilon's version on sin tax increase on cigarette products and alcohol in the Senate's plenary citing the health care benefits that will be derived from it.
 
Ernesto Calindas, president of the National Federation of the Tobacco Growers Associations' Cooperative Incorporated (NFTGACI), said the proposed increase of sin tax on cigarette and alcohol will eventually benefit tobacco farmers and their families because majority of the collected amount from the tax measure will go for health care insurance and upgrading of government hospitals.
 
Fifteen senators including Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile voted for the passage of Senator Drilon's Senate Bill 3299 seeking for the restructuring on the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products by increasing P40 billion to P45 billion.
 
As tobacco planting season this year is now about to start, Calindas advised his fellow tobacco farmers to produce high quality tobacco to meet the demand of the cigarette manufacturers for the production of high quality cigarettes.
 
For his part, Ilocos Governor Luis Chavit Singson, the author of RA 7171 tobacco excise tax law, assured that the increase of sin tax will not adversely affect the Virginia tobacco farmers.
 
He said that any increase on taxes of cigarette products will also increase the share of Virginia tobacco-producing provinces from the RA 7171 tobacco excise tax fund.
 
Under Drilon's sin tax hike version, the P4 billion current annual RA7171 tobacco excise tax fund will become P10 billion per year.
 
Majority of the collected amount from the sin tax increase will go to the universal health care programs of government. Enditem