Businesses to benefit from 2nd tax reform package: Neda exec

MANILA -- Businesses stand to benefit from reduced corporate income tax rates (CIT) even with the rationalization of fiscal incentives under the second proposed package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), a socioeconomic planning official said.

Dr. Rosemarie Edillon, Undersecretary for Planning and Policy at the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), said the second package of tax reforms seeks to remove only redundant incentives.

“Actually, we have done the math there that on the net, they (companies) still stand to gain. Their tax rates will be lowered but we will be also looking at the incentive side that will have to be rationalized,” she said in an interview.

Edillon believes that firms are awaiting developments on the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) which impacts on the corporate sector.

The Train, the first package of the CTRP signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last December, reduced personal income taxes and adjusted excise taxes on fuel and automobiles.

The Neda official further said that prospective investors likewise want to be aware about the country’s policy regime before “they can make their decisions correspondingly.”

“I think they are really (also) interested in the Build, Build, Build infrastructure (program). There is a first-mover advantage that if you know this country is gonna take off in a big, big way, say after four or five years, you prefer more to start now,” added Edillon.