Tax collections from tobacco and alcoholic products rose in June, as lockdown restrictions eased in most parts of the country. — REUTERS

THE government’s tax take from alcohol and tobacco products bounced back in June after two months of contraction, as restrictions eased around the country.

In a statement, the Finance department said excise tax payments of large taxpayers on tobacco products reached P18.1 billion in June, up 36.1% from a year ago and nearly triple its P6.56-billion target for the month.

Excise tax collections from alcoholic beverages hit P7.35 billion, up 7.6% from a year ago and exceeded its P3.15-billion monthly target by 133%.

This brought total collections from “sin” products to P25.45 billion last month, up 26.43% from P20.13 billion in June 2019. This was a reversal from the 43% decline in May and 99% drop in April, when the enhanced community quarantine and localized liquor bans were still in place.

The data is based on the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collections from large taxpayers.

In a text message on Monday, Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran attributed the higher collection to loosened restrictions on mobility of people in key regions, including Metro Manila, last month.

From January to June, tax collection from tobacco products totaled P61.47 billion, breaching the revised P43.6-billion target by 41%.

Excise tax collection from alcohol products reached P27.46 billion in the first half, exceeding the P20.95-billion goal by 31%.

The government had revised its “sin” tax collection target for the year, amid the economic downturn.

As of May 12, the Department of Finance (DoF) projected recently passed “sin” tax bills will yield P13.2 billion in additional revenues for the government this year, lower than the previous estimate of P37.1 billion.

Republic Act (RA) No. 11346 and RA 11467 slapped higher excise tax rates on cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, vapor and alcohol products.

The DoF said total excise taxes collected from large taxpayers increased by 16.4% to P31.06 billion in June.

Collection of excise taxes from other sweetened beverages reached P3.02 billion to exceed the revised P2.53-billion target. Excise tax collected from petroleum products inched up 2.6% to P2.1 billion year on year, but fell short of its P4.3-billion target for the month by 51% due to limited public transportation.

The BIR collected P124 million in excise taxes on automobiles last month, P368 million from minerals, and P2 million from non-essentials.

Despite the pickup in June, excise tax collections from large taxpayers still fell by 24.23% to P128.59 billion in the first six months of 2020. But this exceeded the downgraded target of P113.64 billion by 13.15%. — B.M.Laforga

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR