烟草在线据《商务问询者》报道编译　　财政部坚持把卷烟的消费税最大化。

　　在一份声明中，财政部称，有必要大幅提高税率，确保实现税收收入和政府的健康目标。

　　“我们不能维持烟草税小幅增长的现状。增税对于阻止我们的年轻人开始吸烟很重要，”财政部副部长小耶利米亚·保罗在声明中表示。

　　财政部引用其他国家的研究显示，在大幅提高烟草税后，政府收入上升而吸烟者的数量下降。

　　一些卷烟制造商对此观点有争议，它们表示增加税收不会使吸烟者的人数减少，只会促使他们购买走私和廉价的卷烟。

　　财政部表示，但是税收的增长幅度必须显著。

　　“其他国家的经验表明，增加烟草税会使政府收入增加，同时减少烟草消费，”保罗说。

　　财政部引用的是由美国无烟中心开展的调查。

　　根据这项调查，政府机构称，在南非，卷烟消费税每提高10%，税收收入就会相应地增长约6%，烟草消费也下降。

　　财政部推动烟草税大幅提高。国会正在考虑把烟草税提高150-708%的提议。

　　但是全国的烟农对马拉坎南宫发出的过高的卷烟税不会影响他们的声明很失望。

　　在9月19日周三发表的一份声明中，有2万名会员的强大的菲律宾烟草种植者协会(PTGA)称，王室官员似乎对是他们的困境“若不是不担心，那么就是无知”。

　　菲律宾烟草种植者协会称，王室官员应该听取烟农组织在参议院上对财政部提出把烟草消费税增长高达1000%计划的切实担忧，而不是用“通常未经证实的声明”来消除该组织对该提议的担忧。“菲律宾烟草种植者协会代表来自邦阿西楠省、拉乌尼翁省、南伊罗戈斯省、北伊罗戈省、阿布拉省、伊莎贝拉省、卡格扬河省、西民都洛省的烟草种植者。”

　　“非常高税收将不会对烟农产生负面影响说起来很容易，但是这样的声明是没有根据的，”菲律宾烟草种植者协会主席Saturnino Distor说。

　　Distor指的是总统通信发展和战略规划办公室秘书Ricky Carandang最近发表的一个声明，据引述他的话说“这项法案不会对我们的农民有负面影响。”

　　除了成千上万的烟草农民外，Distor说，依赖烟草作为主要收入来源的当地政府部门，也会受到财政部税收提案的冲击。

　　Distor还对财政部官员发表的即使高税率烟草种植者也将继续存活的声明提出质疑，因为海外市场对当地的烟草的需求在不断增长。

　　Distor指出，并非所有的农民都种植和销售出口等级的烟草。

Philippines: DoF Wants to Maximize Tax Take on Tobacco

　　The Department of Finance insists on maximizing the excise tax on cigarettes.

　　In a statement, the DoF said that a substantial increase in the tax rate is needed to ensure the attainment of revenue and health objectives of the government.

　　"We cannot maintain the status quo of marginal increase in tobacco taxes. Tax increase has to be significant to deter our youth from starting to smoke," Finance Undersecretary Jeremias Paul Jr. said in the statement.

　　The DoF cited studies on other countries showing rise in government revenues and decline in the number of smokers following a steep rise in cigarette taxes.

　　It disputed views from some cigarette makers that an increase in taxes would not cut the number of smokers but would just push them to buy smuggled and cheap cigarettes.

　　But the increase in the tax rate must be significant, the DoF said.

　　"Experience of other countries show that increased taxes on tobacco leads to higher government revenues while reducing tobacco consumption," Paul said.

　　The DoF cited surveys conducted by the US-based Tobacco Free Center.

　　Based on the survey, the government agency said every 10-percent increase in excise tax on cigarettes in South Africa has been associated with an approximate 6-percent rise in revenues even with a decline in tobacco consumption.

　　The DoF is pushing for a steep rise in cigarette taxes. Congress is considering proposals of a 150- to 708-percent hike in cigarette taxes.

　　But tobacco farmers around the country have expressed dismay over Malacañang's claim that imposing excessively high taxes on cigarettes would not adversely affect them.

　　In a statement issued on Wednesday, the 20,000-strong Philippine Tobacco Growers Association (PTGA) said that Palace officials appear to be "uninformed, if not unconcerned" about their plight.

　　The PTGA said Palace officials should listen to the valid concerns that the farmers' group had raised before the Senate over the plan of the Department of Finance to increase cigarette excise taxes by as much as 1,000 percent, instead of dismissing its fears over the proposal with "general, unsupported statements." PTGA represents tobacco growers from the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Isabela, Cagayan and Occidental Mindoro.

　　"It's easy to say that extremely high taxes will not have a negative effect on us tobacco farmers, but such statements have no basis," said PTGA president Saturnino Distor.

　　Distor was referring to a recent statement by Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, who was quoted as saying that "the bill will not have a negative impact on our farmers."

　　Apart from hundreds of thousands of tobacco farmers, Distor said local government units dependent on tobacco as a major source of revenues would also suffer under the DoF tax proposal.

　　Distor also disputed finance officials' claim that tobacco growers would continue to survive even with the high tax rates owing to the growing demand for local tobacco in the foreign market.

　　Distor pointed out that not all farmers cultivate and sell export-quality tobacco. Enditem