Allowing industrial users to directly import their own sugar requirement will serve as “sweetener” for them to accept the new tax scheme on sugary products, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said over the weekend.
“Expectedly, producers and sellers of sugary products subjected to tax will object as it will raise the selling price of their products to the market. But knowing the big difference between the world price and the domestic price of sugar [a major input in the industry], then allowing the industry to import their own sugar requirement would reduce their cost of production,” Diokno said.
“This is the ‘sweetener’ or incentive for producers of sugary products to accept the broader, simpler tax on sugary products,” Diokno said.
He said the proposal makes good economic sense, as it simplifies the tax system where a uniform rate is better than dual rates.
Diokno said it would also encourage Filipinos to live healthier and longer lives and in the long run reduce the government cost in providing healthcare for the people.