MANILA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The Philippines will impose a

12% value-added tax (VAT) on digital services offered by tech

giants such as Amazon ( AMZN ), Netflix ( NFLX ), Disney ( DIS )

, and Alphabet, in a move that will level the

playing field with domestic brick and mortar players, the

internal revenue agency said on Thursday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed into law on Wednesday

the imposition of VAT on non-resident digital service providers

such as streaming services and online search engines.

"This will promote fair competition amongst businesses that

are profiting from consumers here in the Philippines. A level

playing field produces better products and services," Bureau of

Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo Lumagui said in a statement.

Only domestic digital service providers are now subject to

paying the 12% VAT, the agency said.

Netflix ( NFLX ) does not have a statement to share at this time, a

company spokesperson for Asia-Pacific said in an e-mail. Disney ( DIS ),

Google and Amazon ( AMZN ) did not respond to requests for comment.

The government aims to collect 105 billion pesos ($1.9

billion) from the VAT between 2025 and 2029. It plans to

allocate 5% of this revenue to fund projects for Philippine

creative industries, the presidential communications office

said.

The office added that educational and public interest

services would be exempt from the VAT.

Digital services provided by foreign firms are considered

rendered in the Philippines if the digital services are consumed

in the Southeast Asian nation, the revenue agency said.

Since the pandemic, tech giants have experienced higher

usage in Southeast Asia, but they also face increasingly

stringent fiscal tax regimes.

($1 = 56.15 Philippine pesos)