AN official from the Department of Finance revealed that they are looking to put excise taxes on pickup trucks.

Finance Assistant Secretary Karlo Fermin Adriano said that these were among the proposals submitted in the Package 4 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program where the removal of pickup trucks from the exemption of excise tax on automobiles. 

Adriano noted that pickup trucks were granted special tax treatment under the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Law.

This was because of their being a good utility among small business owners and professionals in their livelihood.

“However the Department of Trade and Industry observed that manufacturers modify pickup trucks to serve as passenger, leisure, or sports utility vehicles,” Adriano said.

Under the TRAIN Law, the vehicles are taxed based on price. 

That means an automobile that is worth up to P600,000 are taxed 4 percent of their price, 10 percent for automobiles priced higher than P600,000 but below P1 million, and 20 percent for cars priced above P1 million but below P4 million. 

On the other hand, cars that are worth P4 million or higher are given a 50 percent tax.