Wednesday, 1'4 August 2019

Daily Tribune '

House okays higher alcohol excise

Suansing motion as he insisted that stakeholders should
The bill however did not reach the executive deliberate first on the tax measures. The panel proceeded with
department as the Senate failed to pass the the voting on the measure amid the objection.
HB 1026 seeks to inmease the excise tax rates on alcohol
same even as the president certified it as products and the indexation rate to l0 percent to account for
urgent inflation and income.
Also, to further simplify the tax administration on spirits,
By Keith Calayf,g the tax shall be based on the basis of volume or per liter ancl
no longer per proof liter.
$*uro*ittee on ways and means chaired by Albay, The revenues that will be generated from the mea'bure
I'Flceda on Tuesday approved the bill seeking to will fund social services and infrastructure programs of the
s,'excise tax rates on alcohol products. government.
first committee deliberation on the priority tax The bill, authored by Salceda, wa,s filed to "discourage
,of the administration, 43 of its members approved consumption and to make the con$umers of alcohol bear the;
h of Nueva Eoija Rep. Estrelita Suansing to adopt cost of the negative effect on other people not consuming the
ff?6 or oAn Act amending sections l4l,I42 and 143 product."
Act 8424, as amended, otherwise known as House,Mqiority leader Martin Romualdez earlier vowedl
Internal Revenue Code of 1997." the swift passage of the priority tax rneasures President
motion, Suansing invoked House Rule 48 which Rodrigo Duterte outlined in his last State of the Nation
i#.{in case of bills or resolutions that are identified as Address, including the bill increasing excise tax rates on
measures'of the House which were previously filed in alcohol products, the Tax Reform for Attracting Bettef and
the immediately pending Congress and have been approved on 'High-Quality Opportunities bill and the remaining packages
third reading, the same may be disposed of as matters already under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion L,aw.,
repor,ted upon the approval of m4iority of the members of the Romualdez said these bills could be referred immediately for
pommittee present, there being'a quorum." plenary discussions as these already passed the third and iinal
A similar measure passed the third reading in the last reading last Congress.
Congress. The bill however did not reach tlie executive Acc"orOing to"the rules of the House, the committee
-i.d€partment as the Senate failed to pass the same even as the should immediately prepare the necessary committee
THE bill was filed to discourage consumption and t make alcohol consumers bear the president certified it as urgent. report on. the approveil measure for inclusion in the
cost of the beverage's negative effect on those who don't drink it. Cagayan de 0ro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez objected to the calendar of business.
rr q9{g€'tsgY