Excise tax collection rises to P303 B in 2024

The higher consumption of "sin" products last year pushed the government's excise tax collection to P303 billion, with the gap finally narrowing to single digit.

- By LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

Data obtained by The STAR showed that excise taxes inched up by 3.86 percent to P303 billion last year from the P291.78 billion generated in 2023.

While this was 6.7 percent below the collection goal of P325 billion, it was an improvement from the 13 percent shortfall recorded the previous year.

Excise tax is a levy on the production, sale or consumption of a commodity. It contributes around 12 percent to the overall collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

All excisable products — alcohol, sweetened beverages, minerals, automobiles, cosmetic procedures, petroleum and non-essentials — posted increases in tax collections last year.

Only tobacco, the biggest source of excise tax, showed a decline in tax collection, although by just 0.3 percent to P134.52 billion. It was 11.5 percent below the target of P152.04 billion.