House bills on fiscal perks seen OKd soon

MANILA, Philippines–Two bills aimed at rationalizing and making more transparent the granting of tax incentives to investors will likely be approved by the Lower House in the middle of this year, Marikina City Rep. Romero Federico S. Quimbo said on Wednesday.

In a hearing held by the House ways and means committee, which he chairs, Quimbo expressed confidence that both the rationalization of fiscal incentives bill as well as the proposed tax incentives management and transparency act (Timta) would be passed by the current Congress.

Quimbo said in an interview that the committee was eyeing the passage of both bills in June before the adjournment leading to President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address or Sona, or before the recess in September, after which the two bills would be transmitted to the Senate.

The committee did not tackle Timta during Wednesday’s hearing, as its author, Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor “Leni” Gerona-Robredo, was scheduled to first meet with Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima and Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo to “break the impasse” between their respective agencies.

The Departments of Finance (DOF) and of Trade and Industry (DTI) are at odds over Timta, or House Bill No. 2492, as the former supports the measure while the latter opposes it.

Last week, the DOF said Timta should be “swiftly” passed into law to put in a place a mechanism measuring the total amount of tax perks—a leak to government coffers—being given away to investors.

The DTI, meanwhile, is joined by foreign business chambers in opposing the bill, claiming that it would burden prospective investors, erode the country’s competitiveness, and may also lead to legal challenges in light of the rigid government budgetary processes in the passage of the appropriation law as well as the actual implementation of this system.

In a chance interview, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) promotions and public relations manager Elmer H. San Pascual said that since their previous concerns on Timta had already been addressed, they were now supporting its passage.