MANILA, Philippines – Isinusulong ni Camarines Sur 2nd District Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. ang pagpasa ng panukalang magpapatupad ng USD25 “tourist welfare tax” sa mga foreign visitors na mananatili sa bansa ng hindi lalampas sa dalawang buwan.
“House Bill No. 5285 intends to build on the growth of the tourism industry in the Philippines by generating funds for the improvement of services such as tourist information and assistance desks, tourism police training and special projects for disabled tourists,” ani Villafuerte.
Aniya, nagpapataw ng travel tax ang Pilipinas sa mga Pinoy na bumibyahe patungo sa ibang bansa ngunit hindi ang mga dayuhan na bumibisita sa ating bansa.
“The collection of entry and exit taxes has been imposed by other countries on visiting foreign nationals in order to boost the funding for tourism. This is more commonly collected from travelers flying into a country, where the fee is incorporated into the airline ticket price,” sinabi pa ni Villafuerte.
“In this proposed bill, we follow the same standard of including the Tourist Welfare Tax in the airfare prices.”
Sa ilalim ng HB 5285, o ang “Tourist Welfare Tax Act,” ang nakolektang buwis ay ilalaan para sa pagpapabuti ng tourist welfare services ng DOT at sa pagsasaayos ng tourism infrastructure sa ilalim ng Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
Maliban dito, ang tourist welfare tax ay ilalaan din sa mga tourism offices sa mga local government units (LGUs) para sa “leveling up their respective tourist-friendly programs.”
Saad din sa panukala na maaaring taasan pa ang tourist welfare tax pagkatapos ng limang taon lalo na sa epekto ng inflation.
Maaari rin umanong ibigay ang refund lalo na sa mga turista na gagastos ng mahigit USD10,000 ng tourism receipts.
Mayroon ding listahan ng exemptions sa pagbabayad ng tourist tax ang HB 5285, katulad na lamang ng mga turistang mananatili sa bansa ng mahigit 60 araw o foreigner na may working visa.
Exempted din ang mga sumusunod:
– foreign visitors in transit to another destination and who are staying in the country for not more than 24 hours;
– foreign retirees with valid special retiree’s resident visas issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI);
– foreign students in the country for excursion or immersion who have been issued student visas;
– persons with disabilities (PWDs); children under the age of 12 who are accompanied by guardians or adults and those under the age of 15 who have secured waivers of exclusion ground (WEGs) from the BI and allowed admission to the country;
– officials and heads of foreign States visiting the Philippines; and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Nagbibigay mandato ang panukala sa DOT, TIEZA at Bureau of Internal Revenue na makipag-ugnayan sa implementasyon ng naturang hakbang.
Kung maipatutupad, binibigyang mandato rin ang LGU na bumuo ng kanilang five-year local tourism development plan, para sa kapakanan, seguridad at kabutihan ng mga turista. RNT/JGC
