Category: Tax Justice

UHC-Tobacco Tax, an #AlagangAngara Legacy?

by Action for Economic Reforms | Feb 13, 2019 | Allocating and Tracking Sin Tax Revenues for Universal Health Coverage, Columns, Fiscal Policy, Policy Issues, Press Room, Sin Tax Reforms, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Rio Henri Aquino Dayao The bill to substantially increase the tobacco tax has gained momentum. President Rodrigo Duterte and the Cabinet have certified as urgent Senate Bill 1599, sponsored by Senator Manny...

Cancer and Tobacco Tax

by Action for Economic Reforms | Feb 4, 2019 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Press Room, Sin Tax Reforms, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Carlos Jacinto In January 1975, the Department of Health (DoH) and the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS) launched the first ever National Cancer Consciousness Week. The week-long campaign held every third week...

UHC at risk without new sin taxes

by Action for Economic Reforms | Jan 25, 2019 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Press Room, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Jo-Ann Latuja-Diosana Last Jan. 18, leaders of 30 Philippine medical societies gathered to call for the Senate passage of a bill increasing the excise tax on cigarettes to at least P60 per pack. “The increase will...

Will Senator Angara play Big Tobacco’s game?

by Action for Economic Reforms | Jan 11, 2019 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Press Room, Sin Tax Reforms, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By AJ Montesa In 1994, the CEOs of seven major tobacco manufacturers testified before the United States Congress regarding the health impact of tobacco consumption. Up to that point, there was still some doubt...

The fight to raise tobacco taxes is a fight against breast cancer

by Action for Economic Reforms | Nov 12, 2018 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Policy Issues, Press Room, Sin Tax Reforms, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Maria Asuncion Silvestre INUTILE. That’s how I felt at my beautiful sister Mae’s bedside when she died in 1995, barely a year since arriving back home from her chemotherapy in Michigan. She had two daughters...

The conservative yet unconventional Governor

by Action for Economic Reforms | Oct 17, 2018 | Capital Flows, Competition Reforms, Fiscal Policy, Policy Reforms on Investments, Press Room, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III Nesting Espenilla is a low-key Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He avoids the limelight, and that’s the way it should be for the head of an independent, non-political...

TRABAHO: Setting free an urgent reform

by Action for Economic Reforms | Oct 10, 2018 | Columns, Competition Reforms, Fiscal Policy, Policy Papers, Policy Reforms on Investments, Press Room, Statements, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Jenina Joy Chavez The House of Representatives passed the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities or TRABAHO Bill in early September. The first major component of TRABAHO is the...

Reason, enlightenment and inflation

by Action for Economic Reforms | Oct 10, 2018 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Press Room, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III It is said that reason and enlightenment have taken a beating amid the rise of the Trumps, Erdogans and Dutertes. These belligerent strongmen have polarized society. The consequence...

The tragic consequences of suspending the oil excise tax

by Action for Economic Reforms | Jun 11, 2018 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Policy Issues, Press Room, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III Some quarters led by politicians (it doesn’t matter whether the politicians are pro-administration or anti-administration) have called for the suspension of the increase in the fuel...

Low-cost housing for the rich

by Action for Economic Reforms | Jun 5, 2018 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Policy Issues, Policy Reforms on Investments, Press Room, Statements, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Madeiline Joy Aloria The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) estimates that the country’s total housing backlog will accumulate to 3.6 million units by the end of 2018. For some...

Keep the TRAIN on track

by Action for Economic Reforms | May 16, 2018 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Policy Issues, Press Room, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By Zak Yuson Policy reforms, and reform in general, are always difficult pills to swallow. Any doctor will tell you to complete the full course of antibiotics to address an infection. Likewise, a reform process...

Tyranny of the Minority?

by Action for Economic Reforms | May 7, 2018 | Columns, Fiscal Policy, Policy Reforms on Investments, Press Room, Tax Justice, Yellow Pad | 0 |

Yellow Pad By AJ Montesa The “tyranny of the minority” is a term not often used. In democracies such as ours, primacy in decision making is given to the majority. But the power of the minority can be very real. Whether by...