Follow Philippines Immigration and Philippines Economy: The Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue revealed on the 3rd that the total "sin tax" collected by the Philippine tax authorities on tobacco and alcohol products throughout 2013 reached 33.96 billion pesos (approximately 765 million USD).
To reduce the consumption of tobacco and alcohol products among the Philippine public, the Philippine government officially began imposing a "sin tax" on these products on January 1, 2013, leading to a significant increase in their prices. Kim Henares, Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, revealed to the media on the 3rd that the Philippine tax authorities had originally planned to collect 33 billion in sin taxes on tobacco and alcohol products last year; the actual collection exceeded initial expectations. 85% of this additional "sin tax" revenue will be allocated to the health department's budget.
According to local media reports, starting from January 1, 2014, the sin tax imposed by the Philippine tax authorities on each pack of low-priced cigarettes has been increased from 12 pesos to 17 pesos, while the sin tax on each pack of high-priced cigarettes has been raised to 25 pesos, with the retail price of each pack of cigarettes increasing by at least 5 pesos. Faced with increasingly high cigarette prices, some smokers have indicated they will quit or reduce their smoking.
