BOI to consult stakeholders on unified investment plan

CEBU, Philippines — The Board of Investments is set to consult Cebu stakeholders on the crafting of the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP), a single investment plan the government eyes under its tax reform program.

In a phone interview yesterday, Ellorence Cruz, who heads BOI- Cebu, said the Cebu consultation on Oct. 18 at Cebu Parklane Hotel is in anticipation of the passage of the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (Trabaho) Bill this year.

 Trabaho is the second package of the government’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP), which seeks to cut corporate taxes and modernize fiscal incentives.

"The BOI is now undertaking preparatory work for the drafting of the SIPP to gather industry inputs to determine priority sectors and type of incentives applicable to the sector," Cruz told The FREEMAN.

She said among those to consulted include businessmen, business groups and BOI-registered companies.

SIPP is the single investment priorities plan across all investment promotion agencies (IPAs) being eyed by the government.

Being the country's leading IPA, BOI leads the plan's creation.

The SIPP would be like the current IPP of BOI but is more strategic, looking at sectors that provide the best benefits for the country.

In its corporate tax reform, the government wants fiscal incentives to be performance-based, targeted, time-bound and transparent.

Like the existing IPP, the SIPP shall be updated every three years and shall undergo annual review.

The government has eyed to implement the CTRP Package 2 by January 2019.

Under the proposed reform, the BOI shall ensure a more targeted list which includes activities with significant positive externalities.

The incentives under the proposed reform include five-year income tax holiday (ITH) and/or reduced rate with no extension, except for customs duty of capital equipment.

Currently, the government grants ITH for four to eight years.

The tax reform aims to replace the 5-percent gross income earned with a reduced corporate income tax rate of 15 percent based on net taxable income for five years.