President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law levying additional taxes on alcohol and e-cigarette products, as part of its revenue collection to fund the Universal Healthcare (UHC) system.
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Malacañang said Duterte certified the bill as urgent.
The new law has provision for medicines for heart disease, diabetes and cholesterol tax free.
Medicines for mental health, cancer, tuberculosis and kidney diseases will also be VAT-free staring 2023.
The new law hopes that consumption of tobacco and alcohol products will decrease. At the same time, it aims to generate enough funds to support the UHC system.
The Finance Department expects a revenue of Php136.2 billion from 2020 to 2024 from the additional taxes.
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Duterte also passed a law for additional taxes on tobacco products last year.
