Diokno pitches PIFITA, reform bills to Senate By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM
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HE Department of Finance (DOF) proposed before the Senate the passage of key legislative measures to accelerate the country’s economic recovery and improve local government finance. In t wo separate Senate committee briefings on Tuesday, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno pushed for the passage of the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform bill which aims to broaden the tax base used for property and propertyrelated taxes of the government and promote the development of a just, equitable, and efficient real
property valuation system. A priority bill of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Real Property Valuation and A ssessment Refor m was one of the two remaining tax refor m pac k ages t hat were not passed under the Duterte administration. “The measure mandates the ado pt ion of i nte r n at ion a l ly accepted real property valuation standards, rationa lization of the process of valuation, the establishment of a single valuation base for taxation. The bills’ urgent enactment will assist the LGUs in optimizing revenue collections wh ic h i n t u r n w i l l promote genuine local autonomy,” Diokno told the Senate Committee on
Ways and Means, chaired by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian. Apart from the Real Property Valuation Assessment and Reform bill, Diokno also proposed the passage of the other pending ta x reform package from the Duter te administration—t he Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation (PIFITA). This measure is aimed at making the taxation of passive income, financial intermediaries, financial transactions, simpler, fairer, and more efficient and mandates the reduction in the number of tax rates on passive income and financial intermediaries. Moreover, Diokno said they are pushing for the passage of the measure on the imposition
of value-added tax on digital goods and services, imposition of 20 -percent excise ta x per kilogram of single-use plastic bag, and the rationalization of the mining fiscal regime by imposing a single fiscal regime on mining agreements. In addition, the finance chief said they are also supporting the passage of the Military and Uniformed Personnel Pension Reform bill, Capita l Market Development bill, Livestock Development and Competitiveness bill, and bills introducing amendments to the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation charter. See “DOF,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business Wednesday, August 17, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 313
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By Cai U. Ordinario
Govt weighing option for private sugar importation
@caiordinario
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SURGE in investments from T he Netherlands a l lowed t he cou nt r y ’s foreign pledges to more than double in the second quarter, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Investment pledges from the European country skyrocketed 2,522.32 percent to P19.04 billion in the second quarter in 2022, from P725.97 million in the same period in 2021. This accounted for 41.2 percent of the country’s total approved FDI in the April to June period of P46.23 billion. Total foreign investments surged 105.4 percent from P22.5 billion reported in the same quarter of 2021. “Foreign Direct Investments [FDI] are investments made to acquire a lasting interest by a resident entity in one economy in an enterprise resident in another economy. The purpose of the investor is to have a significant influence, an effective voice in the management of the enterprise,” PSA explained in the technical terms of its report. Apart from The Netherlands, Singapore and Japan also accounted for 34.4 percent and 14.1 percent of foreign investments, respectively, PSA said. Singapore pledged P15.89 billion while Japan committed P6.51 billion worth of investments. The report is based on the approvals made by Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs). For the second quarter, these IPAs were See “PSA,” A2
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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ALL SET Kindergarten pupils take part in a class simulation at Balingasa Elementary School in Quezon City on Tuesday (August 16, 2022), in preparation for the opening of classes on August 22. NONOY LACZA
TRADE ALLIES’ LOCKDOWNS HURT PHL DEEPLY–WB
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HE lockdowns imposed by the country’s trade partners caused more damage to the country’s external trade performance than the local lockdowns imposed by the national government, according to a study by World Bank economists.
In a working paper, World Bank economists Guillermo Ca rlos A renas a nd A ngel l a Fa it h Mont f au con a s w e l l a s Un ive r s it y of Na i robi ’s Socrates Majune said external lockdowns caused Philippine exports to suffer 7 percent
monthly average declines in 2020, while imports plunged 56 percent on average monthly during the period. The data also showed that the country’s imports from countries that imposed lockdowns shrank by a monthly average of
56 percent in terms of value and 78 percent in terms of volume. The economists said this indicated a drop in domestic demand and supply-side disruptions on imported inputs.
HE government is open to allowing local manufacturers to directly import sugar as a last resort to address their supply concerns of the sweetener. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. made the proposal during his meeting with the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. (PCFMI) on Monday evening. Under the said scheme, he said such an importation order will still need the approval of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SR A) and will only be used as an “emergency measure.” Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri proposed a similar reform to combat the supposed kickbacks worth P50 to P100 per bag of sugar made by some unscrupulous government officials for the importation of such food commodities. Zubiri said that a companyspecific importation can prevent such illegal activity. Currently, the prices of local sugar are rising as local supply of the sweetener cannot keep up with its demand due to lower cane production and delay in import arrivals.
See “WB,” A2 See “PCFMI,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.8430 n JAPAN 0.4190 n UK 67.3467 n HK 7.1248 n CHINA 8.2419 n SINGAPORE 40.4982 n AUSTRALIA 39.2074 n EU 56.7532 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8724 Source: BSP (16 August 2022)