Marcos: Citira needs overhaul
SEN. Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos on Friday said no new taxes should be introduced by the government while businesses are still finding ways to deal with losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Marcos, chairman of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee, stressed that the government should instead “overhaul” the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (Citira) to include “deeper tax reductions, deferrals and exemptions.”
“New taxes are the opposite of stimulus packages, which have been slow in coming but are what businesses need right now. Payment of tax dues and collection of tax revenues are likely to be difficult at this time,” she explained.
“We are trying to prevent a bloodbath, to stem the hemorrhage that is inevitable this year, worldwide. In fact, using the title ‘stimulus package’ is misleading. This is more a rescue package to save lives, jobs, and businesses,” she added.
The senator expressed relief that the government’s economic managers had opened up to calibrating Citira instead of rushing lawmakers to pass it, adding that the most urgent stimulus measure right now is to subsidize payrolls of companies in distress.
“There will be no economic recovery to look forward to if the government does not ensure the survival of workers especially in MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) during the pandemic,” she said.
Marcos stressed that stimulus measures in Citira should include an immediate reduction of at least 5 percent of corporate income taxes.
She added that the aversion of the government’s economic managers to calling for a suspension of debt payments to international lenders was “out of step with the call of the times.”
The senator noted that credit rating agency Fitch had slightly downgraded the country’s rating just last week from positive to stable, adding that this may dip further if the search for a coronavirus vaccine takes longer than expected and may prevent businesses from operating at a higher gear.
“Chasing after an ‘A’ rating by avoiding loans means nothing to a mother who needs to put food on the table for her family. Nor does achieving upper middle-income country status mean anything to farmers who have suffered losses in the past three years,” she explained.