Liquor producers are pushing for a more simplified tax system in lieu of the current and the proposed tax increase.
Olivia Limpe-Aw, president and chief executive of Destileria Limtuaco & Company, the oldest distilled spirits manufacturer in the Philippines, said members of the industry were drafting a unified position that they would submit to the Finance Department.
“Our industry has had tax increases in the past. As such we are now heavily taxed. The proposal to further increase ad valorem tax in distilled spirits may dampen demand and may result to the decline of the industry,” she said.
She said while the industry was waiting for the proposed final tax rate, the company was doing initial studies on the socio-economic impact of the tax hike.
The position paper will be submitted as soon as the final rates are declared and impact is calculated, she said.
“There is no development yet as to how much the taxes will be increased. The government is still busy finalizing the tax rate for industries with pending tax hike,” she said.