Goodbye Travel Tax? Joey Salceda Says Scrapping the ₱11 Billion Levy Would Generate ₱46 Billion in Economic Output
Former Albay representative and noted economist Joey Salceda is throwing his weight behind the Marcos administration’s push to abolish the travel tax — and the math, he says, makes total sense.
Yes, the government would lose about ₱11 billion in revenue if the tax is scrapped. But Salceda argues the move would generate ₱46 billion in economic output in return. ‘Every positive measure should be considered,’ the former House Ways and Means chairman said at the Saturday Media Forum in Quezon City.
House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos filed House Bill 7443 to abolish the tax, saying it ‘sends a clear signal that the government is serious about mobility, recovery, and competitiveness.’ Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, the current Ways and Means chair, agreed, calling the tax ‘no longer justified.’
Quimbo pointed out that the travel tax was originally imposed during the Marcos Sr. era in the 1970s, when going abroad was a luxury reserved for the wealthy. ‘Today, everybody travels. So this is a big hindrance,’ he said. OFWs are already exempt from the tax, but regular travelers still pay it every time they fly out.
If the bill passes, it would be a welcome relief for the millions of Filipinos who travel abroad each year — whether for work, vacation, or visiting loved ones. Sana matuloy — less bayad, more lakbay!
Source: The Manila Times
