烟草在线据《马尼拉公报》报道编译　　据悉，受到竞争对手Mighty烟草公司销量增长冲击的卷烟巨头菲莫福川烟草公司（PMFTC），正以万宝路的低价变形产品充斥棉兰老岛，以恢复其在这类产品的市场份额。

　　国内税务局（BIR）的内部人士称，在该局永久搁置菲莫福川烟草公司关于制造和销售四个低价万宝路变形产品以恢复罪恶税法实施后产生的巨大销售损失的请愿书之后，该公司采用了最新的营销策略。

　　国内税务局拒绝了这一要求，因为现有法规禁止万宝路和其他高档品牌降级。

　　菲莫福川烟草公司作出这一请求，希望利用较低的消费税率来削减特定的万宝路品牌零售价格，这将最终迫使Mighty公司（MC）和其它低价卷烟制造商退出市场。

　　国内税务局专员金·S.哈辛托-埃纳雷斯（Kim S. Jacinto-Henares）说，她不会反对菲莫福川烟草公司的营销策略，只要这家公司支付正确的税款。

　　根据该罪恶税法律，由Mighty公司生产的低价品牌按较低的税率纳税，每包20支装卷烟为17比索，而每包20支装的万宝路和其它高档品牌的税率为27比索。

　　不愿透露姓名的消费税官员说，税收安排迫使许多低收入烟民回避菲莫福川烟草公司的优质品牌，而转向低价品牌。

　　事实上，菲莫福川烟草公司承认，去年向竞争对手尤其是Mighty公司流失了一些市场份额，并且销售减少超过了40%。

　　为了扭转局面，菲莫福川烟草公司在棉兰老岛推出了低价万宝路香味代码卷烟。

　　消费税官员说，尽管有高税率，但菲莫福川公司能够以低价零售这个品牌，因为据说其生产这一品牌的大部分原材料来自于本地市场，而不是从其位于美国的母公司进口的。

　　税务官员指出，Mighty公司的繁荣，不是因为菲莫福川公司声称的不当经营行为，而是由于罪恶税法律，该法创造了公平竞争的环境，并引发了消费者从菲莫福川生产的昂贵的高档品牌，向Mighty制造的低端品牌的转变。

　　预见到了这一变化，并且由于其出色的营销策略，Mighty公司的市场份额飙升，从其2013年支付的82亿比索消费税可见一斑，而其上年同期支付的总消费税为5亿比索。

Philippines: PMFTC Floods Mindanao with Low-priced Marlboro Variant

　　Cigarette giant Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC), still hurting from the sales surge of rival Mighty cigarettes, is flooding Mindanao with low-priced variant of Marlboro to regain its market share in this category, it was learned yesterday.

　　Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) insiders said the latest marketing strategy was employed after the bureau permanently shelved the petition of PMFTC to manufacture and sell at low prices four variants of Marlboro to recover huge sales losses incurred when the sin tax law was imposed.

　　BIR rejected the request because existing regulations prohibits the downgrading of Marlboro and other premium brands.

　　PMFTC made the request to avail of the lower excise tax rates to cut retail prices of selected Marlboro brands which will ultimately push out of the market Mighty Corporations (MC) and other manufacturers of low-priced cigarettes.

　　BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares said she will not object to PMFTC's marketing strategy so long as the firm pay correct taxes.

　　Under the sin tax law, low priced brands produced by MC are taxed at the lower rate of P17 per pack of 20 sticks and P27 for Marlboro and other premium brands also pack in 20s.

　　Excise tax officials who declined to be named said the tax schedule compelled many low-income smokers to shift to low-priced brands shying away from the premium brands of PMFTC.

　　As a result, PMFTC admitted of losing some grounds reducing its sales by more than 40 percent last year to rivals particularly to MC.

　　To reverse the situation, PMFTC introduced its low-priced Marlboro Flavor Code cigarette in Mindanao.

　　Excise tax officials said PMFTC was able to retail this brand at low cost despite the high tax rate because it allegedly sourced most of the raw materials in the manufacture of this brand in the local market instead of importing them from its parent company in the US.

　　Revenue officials noted that MC operations prospered not because of trade malpractices as alleged by PMFTC but because of the sin tax law which leveled the playing field and triggered a consumer shift from expensive premium brands produced by PMFTC to the lower brands such as those manufactured by MC.

　　Anticipating the shift and because of its excellent marketing strategy, MC's market share shot up as evidenced by its excise tax payments of P8.2 billion in 2013 as compared to its P500-million total remittances the previous year. Enditem