Philippines Inc. renews call for passage of CREATE

MANILA, Philippines — Businessmen on Friday renewed their call for the passage of the Duterte administration's revised corporate tax reform, saying the measure would serve as companies' main fix to the destruction of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill is a "historic economic reform" that firms need to rebound from pandemic shock, the Management Association of the Philippines and 50 other business groups said in a statement.

Touted as a "stimulus package" by economic managers, CREATE "will be a boost to market confidence, providing instant relief to businesses suffering from business reverses due to the COVID-19 pandemic," the groups added.

If enacted into law, CREATE will immediately cut the corporate income levy to 25% from currently 30% to generate savings for firms which they may use to finance hiring and expansion amid the health crisis. From there, corporate income tax (CIT) rates would go down 1-percentage point each year to 20% by 2027. 

Meanwhile, present tax perks will be kept intact for longer periods before eventually repealing those deemed redundant. "After three years of deliberation, every day of delay comes at the risk of losing more jobs and hemorrhaging more investments," businessmen said.

The full impact of CREATE on business remains to be seen as it undertakes fine tuning from contingents of the Lower House and the Senate. As it is, the uncertainty that the bill brings, especially to economic zones depending on tax perks to attract new investors and keep existing ones, already trigerred some investments to flee.

But for now, businessmen are hopeful that lawmakers would listen to them.

"We humbly request the Senate and the House of Representatives to move quickly and decisively to push CREATE forward and ensure its immediate enactment.

The 51 business groups that signed the joint statement were:

1. ACI PHILIPPINES
2. ANVIL BUSINESS CLUB
3. ATENEO LAW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. (ALAAI)
4. BANKERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (BAP)
5. CEBU BUSINESS CLUB (CBC)
6. CEBU LEADS FOUNDATION (CLF)
7. CHAMBER OF THRIFT BANK (CTB)
8. CHINESE FILIPINO BUSINESS CLUB INC. (CFBC)
9. CIBI FOUNDATION, INC.
10. FEDERATION OF FILIPINO-CHINESE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY, INC. (FFCCCII)
11. FEDERATION OF INDIAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE PHILIPPINES, INC. (FICCI)
12. FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES (FINEX)
13. FINTECH PHILIPPINES ASSOCIATION
14. FINTECH ALLIANCE PHILIPPINES
15. FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC FREEDOM (FEF)
16. FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES (CCI FRANCE-PHILIPPINES)
17. FUND MANAGERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (FMAP)
18. GUILD OF REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS (GREENPRO)
19. HOTEL AND RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (HRAP)
20. INSTITUTE FOR SOLIDARITY IN ASIA, INC. (ISA)
21. INSTITUTE OF CORPORATE DIRECTORS (ICD)
22. INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES (IBP)
23. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPIINES (IPAP)
24. INVESTMENT HOUSE ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (IHAP)
25. IT AND BUSINESS PROCESS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (IBPAP)
26. LICENSING EXECUTIVES SOCIETY PHILIPPINES (LESP)
27. MAKATI BUSINESS CLUB (MBC)
28. MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (MAP)
29. MONEY MARKET ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (MART)
30. NATIONAL REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION, INC. (NREA)
31. NORDIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC. (NORDCHAM)
32. ORGANIZATION OF SOCIALIZED HOUSING DEVELOPERS OF THE PHILIPPINES (OSHDP)
33. PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION OF SECURITIES BROKERS AND DEALERS, INC. (PASBDI)
34. PHILIPPINE BAR ASSOCIATION (PBA)
35. PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP (GO NEGOSYO)
36. PHILIPPINE COUNCIL OF ASSOCIATIONS AND ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES (PCAAE)
37. PHILIPPINE FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION (PFA)
38. PHILIPPINE HOTEL OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. (PHOA)
39. PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS (PICPA)
40. PHILIPPINE LIFE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION (PLIA)
41. PHILIPPINE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION (PRA)
42. PHILIPPINE WOMEN’S ECONOMIC NETWORK (PHILWEN)
43. PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY INSTITUTE OF ASIA (PASIA)
44. RURAL BANKERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (RBAP)
45. SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (SHAREPHIL)
46. SPANISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE PHILIPPINES (LA CAMARA)
47. SUBDIVISION AND HOUSING DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION (SHDA)
48. TAX MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (TMAP)
49. TRUST OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (TOAP)
50. UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (UPSEAA)
51. WOMEN’S BUSINESS COUNCIL PHILIPPINES (WBCP)