IF YOU have traveled abroad, you probably know the burden of having to pay travel tax before you leave.
There is a proposal now to scrap the at least P1,620 travel tax imposed on every person who leaves the country.
While such plan, if it passes, will be welcomed by travelers, it won’t mean an increase in outbound travel, said Alice Queblatin, Cebu Association of Tour Operations Specialists (Catos) president.
“Actually scrapping the amount of US$30 may be appreciated but it will not necessarily increase in great numbers of outbound travel,” the travel agency owner told SunStar Cebu Monday, Sept. 2, 2019 when sought for a comment.
Filipinos traveling to foreign destinations have to pay a travel tax of P1,620 for economy passengers and P2,700 for business class.
Big burden for family travels
For Cebuano blogger and singer Axel Bordario, it’s time that measure got implemented as paying the travel tax is a burden when they travel abroad as a family.
“Imagine traveling as a family of six,” he told SunStar Cebu. “That money could have already been added to our travel fund or pocket.”
“I also don’t get the point of paying taxes to travel—I’m not sure if other countries have the same policy—and at a very hefty price at that. Are taxes from airline tickets not enough?” he lamented.
He said his family usually travels outside the country every year, thus paying the travel levy of P9,720 for six family members is burdensome for them.
Queblatin believes that any reduction in travel fees is always a welcome thing for budget-conscious travelers.
“Broadly speaking, any reduction of tariff in fare, taxes, terminal fees etc. will be most welcome to budget travelers. Even airlines offer a ‘piso’ fare just to catch interest that hopefully turn to sales,” Queblatin said.
Cebu 3rd District Representative Pablo John Garcia proposed last week the abolition of such tax. He said it curtails a person’s basic right to travel.
He filed House Bill 3874 to scrap the collection of travel tax, which is pursuant to Republic Act 1478 that created the Board of Travel and Tourism Industry and enacted in 1956.
Garcia earlier said that “taxing foreign travel is unreasonably burdensome on citizens and residents since so many other components are already being taxed.”
Low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines also appealed to the government to halt the collection of travel tax for outbound travelers.
Former AirAsia Philippines chief executive officer Dexter Comendador said policies like that are not travel-friendly.
Citing the firm’s own study, Comendador said that if the government would take away the travel tax and airport fee, it would lose roughly P4 billion in five years.
But, he said, the country stands to gain P299 billion in terms of tourists coming in, from direct revenues and induced revenues.
Fifty percent of the travel tax collection goes to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority while 40 percent is for the Commission on Higher Education for tourism-related programs. The remainder will be given to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Overseas Filipino workers, Filipino permanent residents abroad whose stay in the Philippines is less than one year, infants two years old and below and several other individuals with special circumstances are exempted from paying travel tax. (with KOC)