Steam prices unchanged for now, 12 percent VAT now in effect

The mandated 12 percent Value-Added Tax (VAT) for digital services is now in effect. However, Steam prices haven’t been impacted just yet.

For those curious, the tax is already incorporated into the listed prices. Whether it will go up or not will depend on game publishers as they’re responsible for absorbing the charges.

In other words, consumers won’t really see the additional costs for purchasing games. Adversely, publishers are free to adjust them accordingly to account for the new digital services tax.

In case some readers missed it, the 12 percent VAT on foreign digital service providers. This announcement was made by the Philippine government last March. While this is certainly good for local businesses, the VAT rate is higher when compared to neighboring countries.

This includes Indonesia (11%), Malaysia (10%), Singapore (9%), and Thailand (7%). We’ll try to update the readers should any price hikes be notable. For now, gamers in the Philippines can breathe a sigh of relief as publishers have accounted for the VAT for now.