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MANILA - Taxing rice imports can generate revenues to aid farmers while helping the government crack down on smuggling at the same time, a finance official said Monday.

Rice tariffs, which is part of the the second package of tax reforms, will be used to fund programs to help farmers diversify and raise their productivity, said Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

"We will encourage smuggling if we don’t regulate properly… But we are tariffying so we will reduce the scope of smuggling," he told ANC's Headstart.

Aiding farmers and fighting smuggling could help reduce the price of rice by as much as P7 per kilo, he said.

Corporate income taxes are the focus of the second trance of reforms, which also includes "complementary" provisions covering rice, tobacco and alcohol.

The first package, which took effect last Jan. 1, raised duties on fuel, cars and sugar-sweetened drinks. It also reduced personal income tax rates.