LOCAL and foreign business groups on Tuesday asked Congress to prioritize the passage of 28 measures, most of which seek to reform the country’s tax structure and liberalize key economic sectors before President Duterte’s term concludes in 2022.

In a joint statement, business groups listed 13 measures for immediate passage, as well as 15 bills that should be legislated thereafter. Among those for immediate passage are amendments to the Public Service Act, Foreign Investment Act and the  Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

“We welcome presidential certification of three important bills to amend the Public Service Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and the Foreign Investment Act, which failed to pass the Senate for lack of time,” the statement read.

Business groups are also pushing for the quick passage of the remaining tax reform packages of the Duterte administration, including the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill. However, they warned against removing fiscal incentives for locators in economic zones, as this could result in the loss of the Philippines’s competitiveness.

“We convey our support on key provisions of the Trabaho bill that are beneficial to our country’s economic growth, but urge policy-makers to review the other conditions that may negatively impact our global competitiveness,” the statement read.

Investors have long made public their opposition to the Trabaho bill’s component on incentives rationalization. They are particularly concerned with the proposed removal of the perpetual 5-percent tax on gross income paid in lieu of all local and national taxes.

They want the government to hasten the reduction of corporate income tax (CIT) to put it on a par with the rate in other Southeast Asian countries. The Philippines currently has the highest CIT in the region at 30 percent, while Singapore imposes the lowest at 17 percent.

Business groups are also pushing for the immediate enactment of the Apprenticeship Program Reform; amendments to the Build Operate Transfer law; Freedom of Information Act; amendments to the Bank Secrecy law; lifting of foreign equity restrictions; tax reform on property valuation and assessment; tax reform on capital income and financial taxes; open access in Data Transmission Act; and a measure creating a water department.

“We believe these reforms will generate substantial impact in improving the country’s global competitiveness, increasing investment and making economic growth more inclusive by creating more and better jobs,” the statement added.

Those on the second-priority list are Farm Entrepreneurship Act; amendments to the charter of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority; excise tax on alcoholic beverages; amendments to the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act; Holiday Rationalization Act; National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Act; and the National Land Use Act.

Also part of the second-priority list are the National Traffic and Congestion Crisis Act; amendments to the charter of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board; amendments to the charter of the Philippine Ports Authority; Water Regulatory Commission Act; amendments to the charter of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines; amendments to the Commonwealth Act 541; National Transportation Safety Board Act; and Philippine Airports Authority Act.

The joint statement was signed by Alyansa Agrikultura, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc., and the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc.

Chambers of American, Australia-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese and Korean firms also signed the statement.

Image Credits: Nonie Reyes