Manila, Philippines – In aim of easing the burden and expenses of Filipino travelers, the abolishment of travel tax is being pushed in the Congress.
Through Senate Bill No. 1843, Senator Kiko Pangilinan expressed support in the calls of abolishing travel tax, which he deemed as an economic burden for Filipino travelers.
Presidential Decree No. 1183 and Tourism Act of 2009 implements fixed tax charge of P2,700 for first class passengers, while P1,620 for economy class.
Pangilinan underscored that this tax is a big cost burden to Filipino’s exercise of their right to travel.
Through the lowering of international cost, Pangilinan emphasized that this will boost passenger volume, increase costs on transportation, accomodation, food and services, and has positive economic impact.
The senator added that the programs sustained by travel tax should be included in Department of Tourism’s Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authroity budget.
Last week, House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Representative Sandro Marcos filed a similar bill before the House of Representatives.
Since then, the abolishment of travel tax have been included among the the priority measures of Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).