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MANILA – The government should “act with care” by approving the second tranche of tax reforms at this time, as investors and companies are recovering from the effects of the coronavirus crisis, some senators said Tuesday.
It may be the “wrong time” to pass the Business Income Tax and Incentive Reform Act (CITIRA), a revenue-neutral bill that will remove incentives from some sectors, the senators said in separate statements, hours after the Secretary of Finance, Carlos Domínguez, called Congress to approve the fiscal measure.
“The problem is that at the moment, unparalleled in tone. Hirap na hirap na ‘yung mga korporasyon and mga Pilipino, biglang tatambakan and pipigain ng buwis,” said the chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, Imee Marcos, in a televised interview. on the state channel PTV.
(The problem right now is that it seems out of tune. Corporations and Filipinos are having a hard time, and they will suddenly be taxed.)
“‘Wag natin asahan na ito (CITIRA) is a great source of tax in maraming koleksyon kasi hirap talaga lahat …’ Wag natin masyado ipitin ang ating mga korporasyon dahil lahat naghihikahos,” he said.
(Let’s not expect CITIRA to generate taxes and collections because everyone is having difficulties … Let’s not squeeze the corporation’s taxes because everyone is in crisis).
Senator Grace Poe, in a separate statement, said that now is not a good time to pass a tax measure.
“With CITIRA, we are eliminating the benefits, incentives, exemptions. It will be difficult for us to catch those investments … Baka sa ngayon, I am timing bad lang ito (Right now, this is the wrong time to tackle this),” Poe told journalists at an online press conference.
While discussing CITIRA during the coronavirus crisis may “resolve the uncertainty,” the government must be careful not to “lose” investors during the health crisis, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sonny Angara said. journalists in a text message.
“We need to act carefully given the drastically different economic environment. The first rule is probably not to lose any of the current investors that we already have, as the investment prospects are not looking fantastic in the future,” Angara said.
“We should study what our neighbors are doing, as we will inevitably be compared to them, whether we like it or not,” he said.
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said the government “should seek loans” instead of imposing taxes to help finance government programs to keep the economy afloat during the coronavirus crisis.
“While we understand the need to raise money to finance our economic recovery efforts, I am wary of imposing more taxes on companies that are already on the verge of bankruptcy and closure,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
“Perhaps the economic team should look for loans instead of taxes to help finance economic recovery efforts,” he said.
Earlier, Congress passed the Bayanihan to heal as a single law authorizing the government to realign funds to provide cash aid to at least 18 million poor families and other sectors paralyzed by coronavirus-related work stoppages.
The financial assistance program was expected to help stimulate economic activity during the health crisis, but as of the first week of May, less than half of beneficiaries have received the promised cash allocation.
The government recently announced that 5 million more poor families will receive aid.
For the first time since 1998, the Philippine economy contracted in the first quarter of 2020 after the government imposed a 2-month blockade in the capital region and nearby areas to stem the spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID -19).
A modified blockade will take effect in Metro Manila, Laguna province and Cebu City, where coronavirus cases continue to be reported, from May 16 to the end of the month.
The chair of the Senate Means and Excise Commission, Pia Cayetano, previously said that the Senate version of CITIRA would be amended to meet the country’s needs during the coronavirus crisis.
President Rodrigo Duterte previously certified the bill as urgent, but the measure is still pending in the Senate as senators have not yet finished amending the bill.
Imee Marcos, Kiko Pangilinan, Sonny Angara, Grace Poe, CITIRA, taxes, investors, companies, coronavirus crisis, incentives, CITIRA coronavirus crisis, Philippine Coronavirus tax reform
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