VAT refund, This could be huge!

[scott h]

Especially for you who are on tourist visas, a 12% reduction in shopping expenses. Naturally the devil will be in the details (if it ever does come to pass )

Add to that how lax things are here generally; I can imagine the wife (dual citizen) and I (13a visa) just flashing our passports at a restaurant or a mall store (like we do with the senior ID) and the clerk just knocking the VAT off the price with only a signature on the receipt. This will be worth monitoring.

‘E-visas, tax refunds key to become Asia’s shopping capital’ | Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — It is not too late for the Philippines to become the shopping capital of Asia, but it will need to implement an e-visa system and provide tax refunds to tourists to be able to do so, according to the government’s economic czar.

“I think we always have that potential to be the shopping capital in Asia,” Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go told reporters during the National Retail Conference and Expo yesterday.

To position the Philippines as the region’s shopping capital, he said the country needs to put in place two basic requirements: e-visas and value-added tax (VAT) refunds for tourists.

 

“To become a shopping capital, that means you’re attracting visitors from all over the world to come here and enjoy and shop. So we need the e-visas. We need to make it easier for travelers to come to the Philippines,” he said.

The e-visa system allows foreign tourists to apply for their temporary visitors’ visa online.

Go said providing VAT refunds to tourists is another basic requirement for the country’s push to become a shopping destination.

“Practically every country in Asia has VAT refund for tourists. We don’t. So if we indeed want to become a shopping capital of Asia or of the world, we need to have those two as basic,” he said.

To implement the VAT refund for tourists, he said there will need to be a law and stringent process. He said the Philippines can be guided by how other countries are implementing the VAT refund for tourists.

Should the government implement the VAT refund system for tourists, he said this would boost tourism and economic activity.

 

“I really believe that tourism is a very low-hanging fruit. It’s one of the easiest things we can boost,” he said.

He said the implementation of VAT refunds for tourists will also make the Philippines attractive for luxury brands.

While other countries in the region have become hot shopping destinations, he said the Philippines has not missed the boat and can still catch up.

“People travel every day, every week, every month. You never miss the boat. People travel all the time,” he said.

Philippine Retailers Association president Roberto Claudio said the group has been pushing for the implementation of the VAT refund scheme for tourists, with the sector expected to be among those to benefit from such.

“Take note that the second biggest expense of the tourists is shopping after their hotel and their fare. Shopping is their second biggest expense. So, a majority of tourists come to visit not just for the attractions, the resorts, the diving or the food. But remember, they all shop before they go home,” he said.

He said retailers will need to start preparing for the VAT refund scheme.

“The overall benefit to the economy is going to be enormous and retailers will be the first one to be in the front line,” he said.

[Mike J]

I don't see it happening on some kind of rebate system.  A VAT discount using a stamp in the passport might work?

[MotorSarge]

32 minutes ago, scott h said:

He said retailers will need to start preparing for the VAT refund scheme.

Need to start preparing for the VAT refund SCAMs! 

Edited August 29 by MotorSarge

[scott h]

1 minute ago, Mike J said:

I don't see it happening on some kind of rebate system.

It would be sort of hard to explain why a tourist is buying a toilet at Wilcon 

 

[Mike J]

11 minutes ago, scott h said:

It would be sort of hard to explain why a tourist is buying a toilet at Wilcon 

 

In case the one on the plane gets plugged up? 

[scott h]

4 minutes ago, Mike J said:

In case the one on the plane gets plugged up? 

 

[graham59]

If the powers that be here spent less time on fanciful daydreaming, and more on implementing 'clean-up' schemes to make the Phils less of a grubby third world landfill site, tourists might think it worth skipping Singapore and Hong Kong. 

[JasonK]

9 minutes ago, graham59 said:

If the powers that be here spent less time on fanciful daydreaming, and more on implementing 'clean-up' schemes to make the Phils less of a grubby third world landfill site, tourists might think it worth skipping Singapore and Hong Kong. 

yeah I was thinking about Singapore when I was reading the OP. PI a long way away from that level.  

[Gator]

7 hours ago, scott h said:

It would be sort of hard to explain why a tourist is buying a toilet at Wilcon 

 

Never heard of a Porta-Potty? 🤣

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, Gator said:

Never heard of a Porta-Potty? 🤣

Better still...