CREATE Act’s ratification coming soon, says Salceda

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. FILE PHOTO

LEGAZPI CITY – Albay Representative Joey Salceda on Sunday said that the Senate and the House of Representatives, in a bicameral meeting, has finally ironed out over the weekend the differences on  the proposed reform of corporate income tax and fiscal incentives or package 2 of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.

“It’s done. Both panels are now ready to sign. The secretariats are now preparing the final copy, we will sign this weekend, and ratify by Monday or Tuesday,” Salceda, principal author of the House version of CREATE, said.

Salceda, House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee chairman, said the major items concurred were the shorter incentives for domestic enterprises, stringent controls against illicit trade in certain economic zones, and longer incentives for all areas outside of the National Capital Region (NCR).

Official seals of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Another concession arrived at was that  domestic enterprises will be able to avail of five years shorter special corporate income tax (SCIT) or enhanced deductions compared to the Senate version of the law.

Additionally, they have to have investment capital of at least P500 million to qualify for the SCIT, Salceda said.

As for critical domestic industries, they will be able to avail of incentives similar to those of export enterprises, he added.

The industries qualified as critical, Salceda said, will be determined by the National Economic and Development Authority as “arbiter between fiscal health and industrial development.”

The CREATE Act, previously called the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA) bill, was certified as urgent by President Duterte on March 9, 2020.

The law was created to help businesses adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and to improve the ability of the Philippines to attract highly desirable investments.

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