The Philippines' "economic czar" said he is looking to implement Value Added Tax (VAT) refund for tourists and expand the electronic visa or e-visa to boost the retail sector in the country.

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Jekki Pascual

ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The Philippines&#x27; &quot;economic czar&quot; said he is looking to implement Value Added Tax (VAT) refund for tourists and expand the electronic visa or e-visa to boost the retail sector in the country.Secretary Frederick Go, who sits as <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, said these measures will have a positive impact on tourism and also make the Philippines a shopping capital in the region. At the 30th National Retail Conference and Expo in Pasay, Go said the Philippines is among the few countries in Asia that do not have VAT refunds for tourists and this is not attracting foreign shoppers. E-visa, he should, should also be expanded, he said.“Practically every country in Asia has VAT refund for tourists, we don’t. If we indeed want to be the shopping capital of Asia or the world, we need to have those two as basic. These are what we call very basic, very fundamental to becoming shopping capital,” Go told reporters at the sideline of the event.Go said many Filipinos go abroad to shop because they get VAT refund, so he also wants more foreign shoppers to also make the Philippines a shopping option. He added that the VAT refund can be imposed on goods or items, but not on services or food consumed in the country.When asked if the country can afford to refund tourists as this would mean the government would return a percentage of the sales to foreign buyers, Go said this would be good for the country as it would attract more tourists.“We hardly had any global shoppers here. You’re computing 12 percent on a very very low base. If you increase the volume, you don’t lose taxes, in fact you collect more taxes.”Go added that only 10 percent of a tourist’s expenses go to shopping, while 90 percent go to hotel, food, and transport— all of which are not covered by VAT refund.The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) agrees with Go, saying many foreign shoppers do not think of the Philippines as a shopping haven because the country does not offer VAT refund.“Tourists whose intention or main consideration is shopping, shy away from the Philippines. They go to Thailand, they go to Singapore, they go to Hong Kong where they can do shopping,” said PRA President Roberto Claudio Sr, who is also Chairman of Quorum International, Inc.PRA officials said they hope this new proposal will be implemented to make the country not just an investment option, but a shopping destination as well.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g_qtUKroLjc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

The Philippines' "economic czar" said he is looking to implement Value Added Tax (VAT) refund for tourists and expand the electronic visa or e-visa to boost the retail sector in the country.

'Economic czar' bats for tourist VAT refunds | ABS-CBN

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'Economic czar' bats for tourist VAT refunds

'Economic czar' bats for tourist VAT refunds

Jekki Pascual,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 29, 2024 04:47 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 29, 2024 05:24 PM PHT

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