Citira to cut 700,000 jobs

the current tax incentive regime could sustain the growth rate of jobs being created.

“If we can continue with a proven system that has created jobs and grow at 5 to 10 percent in the industries that are with me today, then we can create 1 to 2 million additional direct jobs, and 4 to 8 million indirect jobs over the next decade,” Forbes said.

For his part, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua defended Citira, saying investors must look at the bigger picture.

“I think what is important this we look at the reform as a package, because in the past Congresses, what happened was the govern

rationalization by itself without additional offsetting measures,” Chua explained.

These measures, he said, include the reduction of the CIT from 30 percent to 20 percent, the adjustment period for the rationalization of incentives, and incentiv

- mated, will result in an additional 1.6 million new jobs.

Singapore firms support Citira

Also on Tuesday, the Department of Finance ( DoF) said it had secured the support of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) for the performance-based, timebound, targeted and transparent ( PTTT) fiscal incentive regime embodied in Citira.

In a statement, the Finance department said the SBF delegation, led by Chairman Teo Siong Seng, expressed its support during a meeting with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd.

“This is welcome news. While many Singapore companies have established operations in the Philippines in industries, such as manufacturing and infrastructure, there are untapped opportunities in areas such as information technology and digital solutions, which our companies with the capabilities will be able to take up,” Teo was quoted as saying in the statement.

During the meeting, the DoF said Dominguez made it clear that the Philippines is not eliminating investment incentives under Citira, but just wants these to be more like what they offer in Singapore, which adheres to the PTTT principle.