Philippi introduces tax refund for tourists
2023.01.29 06:22
Philippi introduces tax refund for tourists
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced on Sunday that President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines has approved a value-added tax refund program for foreign tourists by 2024 to increase visitor numbers.
The Southeast Asian nation charges a 12% value-added tax on goods consumed within the country. The idea is to give foreigners the opportunity to get a VAT refund on things they take out of the Philippines, like many other countries do.
The PCO stated in a statement that the measure is one of the proposals a private sector advisory council recently presented to Marcos to boost the tourism industry. Other proposals include promoting tourism investment and improving airport operations and infrastructure.
It said that Marcos has also approved the launch of an online visa this year for tourists from China, India, South Korea, and Japan.
According to the Department of Tourism, the Philippines received 2.65 million international visitors in the year 2022. These visitors generated an estimated $3.68 billion in revenue, exceeding its 2022 target of 1.7 million tourists.
The total for the previous year was 2.02 million people from other countries and 628,445 Filipinos living abroad. This was significantly lower than the annual average of 8.26 million people before the pandemic, which was only 163,879 in 2021.
This year, the government wants to see 4.8 million more tourists arrive.
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