Investments in socialized housing to get 4-yr ITH

MANILA, Philippines - Investment in mass and socialized housing projects will receive a four-year income tax holiday (ITH) for the next five years, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

DTI Undersecretary for Investments and Promotions Cristino L. Panlilio yesterday promised players of the retail estate industry during the 2011 Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc (SHDA)-Housing Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) National Developers Convention that investment in low cost and mass housing projects will be retained in the IPP for at least five more years.

The IPP is the list of industries that will be given ITH and other tax perks like duty free importation of capital equipment. It is revised yearly.

“Government doesn’t want to interfere in housing but we will support in incentives and in the conversion of agricultural to residential lots,” Panlilio said.

Currently, SHDA said about 3.7 million families are seeking to find decent homes and shelters that they can call their own.

The housing sector is probably the most regulated industry in the country. And with more than a handful of groups and people working together under a single agenda, a program of this scale will truly serve as a potent tool to address the situation and continue advocating for homes for every Filipino family, SHDA said.

Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Jejomar Binay will spearhead a large-scale housing initiative as the country’s industry players aim to provide homes to 1.5 million Filipinos by 2016 when he graces the 2011 national housing convention organized by SHDA.

“We have to revisit the linkages that we have in place among the agencies working together in the housing sector in order to sustain a consistent momentum in the delivery of housing units,” said Manuel Crisostomo, chairman and president of SHDA.

SHDA has decided to gather together the players in the housing sector in a large-scale convention to discuss how they can collectively cope with changes in government regulations, implementation of new laws, and pending legislative orders that will affect their respective workplans.