Tax holidays for new mining firms suspended

DAVAO CITY—The tax holidays given to mining companies putting up new investments in the country has been suspended as the government seeks a hike in its share from extracted minerals, the Board of Investments (BOI) said Thursday.

Oliver Butalid, BOI governor, said until a new sharing agreement has been formulated, “the suspension of tax holidays on mining investments will stay.”

Speaking before reporters here after the presentation of the BOI’s investment priority plan for 2012, Butalid said the current sharing scheme put the government at the losing end.

“The current two-percent rate for mining is too small with prices of mineral at high levels,” he said.

Butalid said under President Aquino’s Executive Order, “the 98-percent profit of miners will have to be cut by as much as 30 points to 68 percent and increase the government’s take from the measly two percent to 32 percent.”

Butalid said the suspension order only covers new mining investments.

He said the BOI would continue to give tax holidays to investments in agriculture, agribusiness and fishery; creative industries/knowledge-based services; shipbuilding; mass housing; iron and steel; energy; infrastructure; research and development; green projects’ motor vehicles’ strategic projects; hospital/medical services; disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery projects.

Meanwhile, Butalid said the BOI, through new initiatives, aims to “address present economic challenges by focusing on job generation, enhanced delivery of social service, international competitiveness, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.”

He said among these initiatives is the simplified processing of investment registration and eligibility for tax holidays.

He said the BOI has eradicated red tape in the processing of investment registrations and tax holiday applications, and changed this into “red carpet” so that investors’ confidence will be boosted.

“The relaxing of rules on investment processing and registration with the BOI is being implemented at this time when the country is in the sweet spot for investments compared to other neighboring countries,” Butalid said. Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao