Raising tobacco tax 'upholds tax justice'

Increasing taxes on tobacco products "upholds tax justice," two civil society groups said on Tuesday after they joined calls for higher cigarette duties. Once undertaken, the move will "correct a public bad caused by cigarette smoking and generates revenue that will finance poverty reduction, including essential health services for the people." This was asserted by the Jubilee South Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JSAPMDD) and the Action for Economic Reforms (AER). These calls came after tobacco control advocates and health groups clamored for increased tobacco taxes which will help prevent the youth from smoking. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines recently lauded the statement of Health Secretary Enrique Ona to increase tobacco taxes by P4.50 per cigarette or P90 per 20-stick cigarette pack during their dialogue two weeks ago. Imposing higher taxes on tobacco products "is an effective instrument to raise revenues for the government that is saddled with a budget deficit problem and will have difficulty pursuing its social goals of providing for the social protection programs on health and livelihood," Lidy Nacpil, JSAPMDD Coordinator, said in a statement. Revenues collected from increased tobacco taxes — including those imposed "on goods and services that are of no social value such as cigarettes" — will be enough "to replace revenues from the Value Added Tax imposed on essential goods and inputs for staple goods," Filomeno Sta. Ana, AER coordinator, said. As a result, higher tobacco taxes will provide "a big revenue boost, which will avert a fiscal crisis and thus provide macro-economic stability," Sta. Ana added. "It will also be critical to the success of the new administration's poverty reduction program, including President Aquino’s commitment to put in place universal health coverage." Last August 9 to 11, both groups organized the Asian Seminar on Tax Justice in the Philippines to pursue national, regional and global campaigns on tax justice issues, including raising tobacco taxes to improve public health. Participants who came from the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam also discussed the justice issues involved in progressive taxation, tax evasion and regressive taxation. “Raising tobacco taxes should not be unthinkable for the President because other countries are already doing so. Tax justice involves the review of our existing taxation policies that should encourage industries and practices that are beneficial to the people and discourage industries that produce goods and services that cause harm to people’s health and the environment," Nacpil said. - HS, GMANews.TV