FHM Explainer: The Sin Tax

While you’re thinking of ways to spend your hard-earned cash, keep in mind that a change is a coming. And no, it will have nothing (or at least not directly) to do with the Mayan Calendar. But it will still pretty much change a lot of lives.

We're talking about the amendment of House Bill 5727, or the Sin Tax Bill.

While it sounds so evil, the sin tax is simply the tax added to products or services commonly considered as vices, such as tobacco, alcohol, and gambling. This allows the government to do the following: increase government revenues, and/or discourage practice of such vices. The Sin Tax amendment that the House of Representatives passed in June aims to increase taxes for both tobacco and alcohol. It's an economic and political step that the Senate will spend about a couple of months more to think about and vote on.

But, for now, we wish to answer the question that's probably clouding the average cigarette-smoking, alcohol-bingeing Juans and Juanas out there: How much will this increase be and, once it's made into law, how much will it affect me?

Here’s a little infographic to answer all that...