House OKs ‘Trabaho’ bill on 2nd reading

The House of Representatives has approved the second tranche of the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform package on second reading.

The approval of House Bill 8083 or the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill was made via viva voce or voice voting during the lower chamber’s Tuesday session.

Committee on ways and means chair Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua earlier gave the assurance that the bill would not lead to a mass layoff or additional tax burden on consumers.

READ: House committee approves ‘TRABAHO,’ a substitute bill to TRAIN-2

Cua also explained that the bill seeks to generate more jobs by lowering the Philippine corporate income tax rate and modernizing the present investment regime.

The proposed measure specifically aims to reduce the corporate income tax (CIT) by two percent every two years beginning 2021 until 2029. By then, CIT will be brought down to 20 percent from the current 30 percent.

Once the new tax incentive scheme is enacted into law, an investor can enjoy a tax holiday of five to seven years depending on the location and merits of their investment.

Investments in certain industries, such as infrastructure and research development, may also be rewarded with additional tax cuts.

A clean copy of the bill has yet to be released to the media. /je