INVESTMENT PLEDGES BUMABA

BUMAGSAK ang investments pledges sa Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) sa first half ng taon.

Ayon kay PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza, ang investment pledges ay bumaba ng 55.86 percent mula ­Enero hanggang Hunyo dahil sa second package ng Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

“Potential investors are apparently holding on to their money, while existing locators are hesitant to expand operations, as some tax incentives might soon be removed,” wika ni Plaza.

Ang investments na naitala sa ilalim ng PEZA ay bumag­ak sa P53.07 billion sa first half ng taon, mula sa P120.22 billion sa kaparehong panahon noong nakaraang taon.

Sa datos, ang investment pledges sa manufacturing ay bumaba ng 9.29 percent; information technology ng 13.66 percent; economic zone development ng 65.15 percent; at iba pang sektor ng halos 100 percent.

Sinabi ni Plaza na isinusulong ng kanyang ahensiya ang pagpasa sa second package ng CTRP, subalit dapat aniyang hindi kasama ang PEZA sa sakop nito.

Layunin ng panukalang tax measure na i-rationalize ang fiscal incentives, at babaan ang corporate income tax.

“We will be asking Congress for the retention of those incentives that are working. Why are we going to change the rules—or, in this case, the incentives—in the middle of the game when our investors are happy with these incentives?” sabi pa ng PEZA chief.

Iginiit niya na ipinatutupad ng ahensiya ang panukalang criteria ng  Department of Finance (DOF) sa pagkakaloob ng mga in-sentibo bago pa man ito inilagay sa second package ng CTRP.

“Additional incentives in the form of income tax holiday (ITH) are granted to locators that bring in new technology and products to the country. This is in line with the DOF’s criteria that tax perks should be ‘performance-based, time-bound, transparent and targeted’,” dagdag pa niya. ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES