Excise tax on plastics greenlighted

The House Committee on Ways and Means yesterday approved the bill that would impose excise tax on single-use plastics.

The approval came a week after the said panel began its discussion on House Bill 178 filed by Sultan Kudarat 2nd District Rep. Horacio Suansing Jr. and Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Estrellita Suansing.

During the hearing, the panel amended the bill to impose P20 excise tax per kilo of single-use plastics. The bill originally proposed P10 excise tax per kilo.

According to panel chairman Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, a total of P4.8 billion in revenue is expected to be collected from taxes in the first year of the implementation of the bill.

During the hearing, the panel also considered including primary plastic packaging, including sachets, among those that will be taxed.

However, it was deferred due to possible inflation on food and prices of basic commodities.

The taxes that will be collected from single use plastics will be earmarked for the implementation of the Solid Waste Management Act.

The approval of the bill came after President Rodrigo Duterte expressed interest to ban use of plastic nationwide in a bid to mitigate climate change.