Marikina City 2nd District Representative Miro Quimbo has voiced support for House Bill 7443, authored by Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos, which seeks to abolish the country’s travel tax to strengthen the tourism sector.
Quimbo acknowledged that while the government may lose around ₱7.5 billion in annual collections, the measure could generate an estimated ₱22 billion in additional revenues through increased travel activity and higher income tax contributions.
“So ‘yun po ang overall for the ₱7.5 billion na mawawala po natin ‘pag tinanggal po natin annually. So sa computation po namin ‘yung madadagdag in terms of income tax, dahil mas malaki ang kikita nila, aabot po ng ₱22 billion. No brainer po talaga siya,” he said in a radio interview.
The lawmaker explained that removing the ₱1,620 travel tax for economy-class passengers and ₱2,700 for first-class travelers would reduce ticket prices by up to 20% for destinations like Singapore and Bangkok, making travel more accessible.
“Kapag tinanggal po natin yung ₱1,620 sa isang plane fare… meaning mas maraming tao ang makaka-biyahe. So mas madadagdag ang kikitain ng ating travel agencies, ating airline companies. No brainer,” Quimbo added.
He also emphasized that the Philippines remains the only ASEAN country still imposing an outbound travel tax, a levy introduced during the Marcos Sr. administration when overseas travel was limited to the wealthy.
“But today everybody travels. So malaking sagabal po ito pagdating sa ability ng ating mga kababayan na mag-biyahe,” Quimbo said.
HB 7443 is included in the priority legislative agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), with the House aiming to pass the measure before the June break.