THE Department of Finance (DOF) said it wants to impose an excise tax on single-use plastic bags.
The proposal covers single-use plastic bags that are not recyclable, such as ice bags, sando bags, or plastic “labo” bags.
The DOF is suggesting a P100 per kilo excise tax on single-use plastic bags, with a 4 percent annual indexation starting from the third year of implementation.
This means that the price of labo bags will slightly increase from P0.47 to P0.82 per piece, while sando bags will be priced at P0.51 to P0.91 each.
The Finance department estimates that P31.52 billion in revenue will be collected from this initiative from 2025 to 2028. This shall be allotted for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)’s solid waste management program in municipalities.
The DOF said the proposal aims to curb the high volume of mismanaged plastics in the country. The agency noted that a World Bank study showed that the Philippines is the third largest contributor of mismanaged plastic, with 750,000 metric tons of these entering the ocean each year.
They also said that the Philippines has one of the cheapest tax rates per bag at P0.40 — a stark contrast from the United Kingdom’s P326 per bag, Ireland’s P12, and Denmark’s P1.
“It is the government’s duty to raise awareness on the impact of non-recyclable plastics and the irreversible effects of climate change,” Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.
DOF Undersecretary Karlo Fermin Adriano also assured stakeholders that single-use plastics are not being singled out, noting that the government has already done something similar for tobacco, alcohol, and cars. (ABS-CBN News)
