The World Health Organization has urged the Philippine government to raise the excise tax on cigarettes, saying the low tax in the country was not helping the cause of fighting tobacco-related diseases.

In a letter to the Department of Finance (DOF), the health agency noted that the Philippines had the lowest excise tax on cigarettes among Southeast Asian countries.
Finance undersecretary Gil Beltran Beltran said the DOF was willing to work on the proposal to raise the excise tax on cigarettes, agreeing that the current tax rates were outdated. He said, however, that increasing cigarette taxes would not be easy as industry players are expected to lobby strongly against it.
WHO said the cigarette tax in Singapore was equivalent to US$ 193 per 1,000 sticks. In Brunei, the rate is equivalent to US$ 39.30. In Malaysia, cigarettes are taxed US$ 23.29 per 1,000 sticks.
In the Philippines, however, the excise tax on cigarettes range from only US$ 2.42 to US$ 29.28 per 1,000 sticks. Cigarettes in the Philippines are divided into four classifications and the tax rates differ based on price.
Beltran noted that most cigarettes are taxed based on their 1997 prices. The Bureau of Internal Revenue cannot automatically raise the tax to match a corresponding increase in price. An increase in the tax rate may only be done through legislation.
In 2005, the congress passed the 'sin tax law', to increase the tax rates on cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. The law raises the tax rates applied on four classifications of cigarettes by an average of 8 per cent once every two years.
The DOF said the law did not incorporate a provision that would automatically place a cigarette brand into a higher tax bracket if its price increased. Earlier, the DOF submitted to the Senate a position paper that sought for an amendment to the sin tax law of 2005. (pi)