煙草在線據GMA News報道編譯　　3月10日，制造好彩牌卷煙的英美煙草公司說，盡管菲律賓提高了煙草產品消費稅，但卷煙消費量仍然保持不變。

　　提高煙草產品的所謂罪惡稅的提案備受關注，尤其是讓北呂宋島的立法議員們擔心，他們說，提高煙稅可能意味著煙農的收入因煙草需求減少而下降。

　　但英美煙草菲律賓公司的總經理James Lafferty說：“煙草消費沒有受到影響，沒有發生任何改變?！?/p>

　　他補充說：“市場并沒有崩潰，市場還在銷售他們的煙草，農民們很好，煙草公司在向菲律賓農民購買煙草。”

　　他說，英美煙草公司每年大約購買360噸煙草，這是它在2012年購買的煙草量的兩倍。他還說，在推出較低檔的波邁牌卷煙之后，英美煙草公司在2013年取得了“兩位數”的增長。

　　他說：“罪惡稅已經正式實施，我們現在注意到了自由市場的好處?！庇⒚罒煵莨镜氖袌龇蓊~大約為1%。

　　與之形成對比的是，菲莫福川煙草公司在2013年12月表示，其2013年的產量下降到了680億支卷煙，相比之下，2012年的產量為920億支。

　　它在2013年給菲律賓國稅局寫信，將其萬寶路原味、萬寶路金色淡味煙、萬寶路薄荷煙和萬寶路黑薄荷煙注冊為低價類卷煙。

　　菲莫福川公司總裁保羅·賴利在一封信中說，菲莫福川“愿意大大削減公司的利潤，推出每包零售價格低于11.5比索的新萬寶路產品。菲莫福川煙草公司希望在2014年增產89億支，而反過來，這將可以幫助國稅局從卷煙中征收到更多的稅收。”

　　1月，菲律賓國稅局局長Kim Jacinto-Henares說，由于1年前提高了煙草產品消費稅，政府的稅收大幅增長。

　　她當時說：“2013年的目標是通過罪惡產品征稅超過330億比索，而從我們預測的來看，我們的征稅情況更好?！?/p>

　　在同樣的報告中，前衛生大臣Francisco Duque三世說，提高罪惡產品的稅率未必就意味著吸煙的人數也減少了。

BAT Philippines: Higher Sin Tax Has Not kept People from Smoking

　　British American Tobacco, makers of Lucky Strike, said Monday that cigarette consumption has remained the same despite an increase in the excise tax on tobacco products.

　　The proposal to raise the so-called sin tax on tobacco products was met with concern, especially from lawmakers from North Luzon who said higher taxes could mean a drop in income for tobacco farmers because of lower demand.

　　But James Lafferty, general manager of BAT Philippines, said "consumption　was not affected, nothing has happened."

　　He added "the market did not fall apart; the market sells all their crop; farmers are fine; the tobacco companies are buying crops from Filipinos farmers."

　　He said BAT buys about 3.6 million kilograms of tobacco a year, twice the volume it bought in 2012. He added the company saw "double-digit" growth in 2013 after the introduction of its lower-tier Pall Mall brand.

　　"Sin tax is formally locked in place and we are now seeing the benefits of free liberal market," he said. BAT's market share is around one percent.

　　In contrast, Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp., said in December 2013 that production volume dropped to 68 billion sticks that year against 92 billion sticks in 2012.

　　It wrote the Bureau of Internal Revenue in 2013 to register its Marlboro Original, Marlboro Gold Lights, Marlboro Menthol, and Marlboro Black Menthol brands in the low-price category.

　　PMFTC president Paul Riley said in his letter that the company was "willing to significantly cut its margins by introducing new Marlboro products with Net Retail Selling Prices (NRSPs) of below P11.50/pack. The company is hoping to get an additional volume of 8.9 billion sticks in 2014 which, in turn, can help the BIR collect more revenues from cigarettes."

　　In January, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said the government collected a windfall since the excise tax on tobacco products was raised a year ago.

　　"The goal for 2013 is over P33 billion in tax collection from sin products and, from what we predicted, our collection is better," she said then.

　　In the same report, former Health secretary Francisco Duque III said higher taxes on sin products do not necessarily translate to fewer people smoking. Enditem