Tobacco farmers hit Palace over sin taxes

Filipino tobacco farmers are dismayed at how Malacañang takes on their plight after a high Palace official claimed that imposing excessively high taxes on cigarettes will not adversely affect tobacco farmers.

The Palace appears to be “uninformed, if not unconcerned” about us, said the 20,000-strong Philippine Tobacco Growers Association (PTGA), adding that Malacañang should listen to the valid concerns the farmers’ group had raised before the Senate. The Department of Finance plans to increase cigarette excise taxes by as much as 1,000 percent.