MANILA - As the government mulls higher taxes on several food products, the head of the Department of Finance on Wednesday said he does not favor raising taxes on instant noodles.

The DOF recently announced that it is collaborating with the Department of Health to pursue higher taxes on salty foods as well as sweetened beverages, supposedly to address illnesses related to poor diet such as diabetes and obesity.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno however said that the DOF is keen to exempt instant noodles from products that should be slapped with higher tax rates.

While instant noodles are also considered products with “high sodium content”, Diokno said, these are commodities commonly consumed by lower income families.

Diokno also said that the DOF is targeting to finish its review of the list of products exempted from value-added tax (VAT) before the end of the year.

“I want all the major reforms to happen before the 2025 elections. So I am working non-stop, incessantly,” he said.

The Tax Code listed 29 items, mostly “social goods and services consumed by individuals such as agricultural and marine food products in their original state, education, health services, financial services” to be exempted from VAT to mitigate the tax burden.

The DOF review aims to look into areas that have too many exemptions in a bid to “further broaden the tax base and enhance collection efficiency”, Diokno said.

INFLATION TARGET

The DOF also expects inflation to ease further in the coming months, falling to below 4 percent by either September or October.

“Ang bagong forecast ng BSP ay magiging 5.5 for the whole year.. So we continue to monitor it monthly basis baka mas bumaba pa," Diokno said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that inflation in May slowed for the fourth straight month as fuel prices, transport costs and prices of select food products eased.

“Petroleum is going down, so we are optimistic that it will not be [a] major contributor to inflation."

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