Facials, Laser Treatments, Fillers, and More to Be Included in New Tax Reform Bill?

Beauty comes with a price, and its price in the Philippines just got steeper. The Senate has filed a bill to reform the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) that includes excising an additional 20 percent of taxes on cosmetic surgery. Under section 30 of the amendment, "cosmetic surgeries, procedures, and body enhancements
Initially, this was thought to only include beauty procedures that require surgery, but our insider sources from ambulatory clinics say that this will also target the prices of basic, non-surgical beauty procedures, such as facials, fillers, laser and
Since the first mention of this reform, many have stressed that those most unjustly affected by this tentative tax would be the female market. Initially, it seemed that the reform is meant to target the upper classes by
The table below illustrates ballpark figures of starting prices at upscale clinics and how the hypothetical 20 percent will reflect on those prices.
It seems that the only ones exempted, for now, are those seeking reconstructive surgery for medical purposes, including breast reduction in the case of a cyst, or repair due to disease, burns, trauma, infections, or congenital disorders, such as a cleft lip or palate.
PhilStar reports that possible revisions and final deliberations will be made when sessions resume in November. President Duterte seeks to have the law signed by December 15.
The amendment, prepared by the Committee on Ways on Means and authored by 14 senators, seeks to enable the reform bill as an accelerated solution to enable the government to fund an infrastructure program worth P8 trillion.