Sari-sari store and carinderia owners are alarmed over a new bill imposing P10 per liter excise tax on ordinary beverages such as 3-in-1 coffee, powdered juice drinks, energy drinks, carbonated drinks and ready-to-drink tea.
Currently included in the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the administration, House Bill 292 will most likely double the price of commodities currently being sold in the market, affecting sari-sari store and carinderia owners and the consumers who buy the products.
If the new Tax Bill would be enacted into law, powdered juice drinks would raise the price of a one liter sachet from P9 to P20.
Likewise, the price of 3-in-1 coffee, a major commodity of the poorer segment of the society, will increase from P5 to P8. Ready to drink juices will be sold from P20 to P26 and carbonated drinks per liter will be sold at P25 from its current price of P16.
“Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit mga produkto na tinatangkilik ng mga mahihirap ang gustong nilangpatawan ng dagdag na buwis. Napaka-unfair naman. Sana isipin naman ng ating mga mambabatas na wala kaming extra income, at lalo kaming maghihirap dahil lahat ay tumataas na—gasolina, pamasahe, at ngayon pati soft drinks at kape. Sobra naman,” [I don’t understand the reason why they are taxing the products that the poor are consuming. This is but unfair. I hope our lawmakers would realize that we do not have extra income, and that we will only be burdened by this. This is just too much.], said Victoria “Nanay Vicky” Aguinaldo, President of Philippine Association of Store and Carinderia Owners (PASCO).
According to Nanay Vicky, a regular sari-sari store earns an average of P1000 per day and P300 to P400 or 30-40 percent of this comes from the sale of coffee, juice and carbonated drinks.
For instance, P250-300 of P600-800 net income of one PASCO member comes from the sale of these products.
“Tanging pag-asa na lang namin ay si Pangulong Duterte. Nananawagan kami sa kanya na sana ay pakinggan niya ang apela naming mga mahihirap,” [President Duterte is our only hope. We call on him to heed our call and thwart the passage of this bill.], added Nanay Vicky.