Quimbo: Wait for TIMTA effect before tax revision

MANILA, Philippines - The Duterte administration should wait for the full and comprehensive industry data to be derived from the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA) before it starts proposing amendments to rationalize tax incentives enjoyed by certain business sectors, a lawmaker said.

Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said the Department of Finance (DOF) should await the full effectivity of Republic Act 10708 or the TIMTA before it pushes for the second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

“Before the DOF starts tinkering with incentives, let’s have the full effects of the (TIMTA) law first. The reason why we approved that was so we have the necessary data,” Quimbo told reporters.

The second package of the CTRP would focus on the reduction of corporate income taxes from 32 percent to 25 percent, alongside the rationalization of the fiscal incentives being enjoyed by certain sectors.

TIMTA, meanwhile, aims to develop a means to monitor and measure the fiscal incentives administered by the government.

As a co-author of TIMTA in the House of Representatives, Quimbo said he estimates it would take three years from the implementation of the law before it goes into “full effect.”

“It should be three years in my mind. (TIMTA) started last year...I only say two years because I think that is, off the cuff, the amount of time needed to be able to have a comprehensive data that can can intelligently analyze and come up with a proper conclusion,” he said.

Quimbo, however, clarified he is open to the DOF’s proposals using already existing data.