GMA: Infrastructure key to investments

Allaying fears that the proposed tax reform law may scare away investors, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had said that infrastructure and the ease of doing business were the most important factors for business ventures.

In a press briefing on Friday at Global Aseana, a booming industrial park in San Simon, Pampanga, Arroyo said that while incentives might attract investors, infrastructure and ease of doing business were the key factors in attracting investors.

Arroyo answered criticisms and concerns that the proposed Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill might turn off investors as it removes some incentives for businesses in economic zones.

“The government realizes that there are businesses that need fiscal incentives and there are industries that invest not really because of incentives but because of infrastructure and the ease of doing business,” Arroyo was quoted as saying in a statement issued by her office. —Jerome Aning