Tax reform high on businessmen's agenda to grow the PHL economy

The adoption of a comprehensive tax reform package is high on the 10-point recommendation of the business community for the incoming administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.

"Participants identified comprehensive tax reform as a primary concern for the country," said George Barcelon, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Concluding the two-day Sulong Pilipinas, a two-day consultative meeting by Duterte's economic managers with the business leaders, the business community presented its recommendations generated from the summit in Davao City.

Barcelon compared the recommendations to coordinates sets a ship on sail.

"We hope that these would guide the country for better days," he said.

The following are the 10-point recommendation of the business sector:

• Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCC) President George Barcelon presented noted the first of the 10 recommendations as follows:
• Adoption of Comprehensive Tax Reform Package
• Implementation of national ID System
• Automation and streamlining of government business permits and licensing system
• Improvement of telecommunication services
• Support services to farmers
• Implementation of responsible mining
• Development and implementation of national strategy
• Improvement of transport network across country to improve connectivity
• Review of the CCT Program
• Reduction in infrastructure bottlenecks

Tax reform

Barcelon said participants are asking for specific reductions in the corporate, personal, and capital gains tax rates.

"The participants suggested that the tax rates systems be pegged to that of Singapore or Hong Kong. There was also a suggestion to not only bring down the tax rates to the levels of our ASEAN neighbors but even make this even lower to attract more investors," Barcelon emphasized.

Increasing excise taxes by expanding the definition of luxury goods will fill in the deficits from the reduced tax rates, he added.

Businessmen also want the implementation of a national ID system to better target social services.

"Participants identified the pressing needs to institute a national ID system that will allow government agencies to provide more targeted social services and  prevent double counting or leakage," Bercelon said, noting it will also allow informal settlers to be properly identified.

"Enabling targeted interventions, support mechanisms such as improved access to health, food, education, and shelter programs," he added.

Business permit and licensing system automation will reduce bottlenecks in land titling, improve ease of doing business, and eliminate windows of corruption.

Participants also called for the improvement of Internet and telecommunications services to be competitive with the best in the region.

Businessmen recommended the delivery of support services to farmers and fishermen such as financing, incentives, technology, irrigation, post-harvest facilities, farm-to-market roads, and improved logistics to fully develop the potential of the agriculture industry.

Change

"Change is not so bad," Mindanao Business Council Chairman Vicente Lao said as he presented the proposals businessmen want the Duterte administration to implement.

The business community is calling for the implementation of responsible mining across the country and the development and implementation of national strategies.

"There is a need to have a national strategy and development plan to identify areas where our country has the greatest competitive advantages domestically and globally," Lao said.

Under the plan, areas will be dedicated to industries with the most competitive advantage: Clark and Batangas for manufacturing, Bohol for tourism, Negros for agriculture, Saranggani for fisheries, and Cagayan de Oro for agriculture and manufacturing.

Transport network

Businessmen also want the improvement of the transport network across the country to improve connectivity, given the "clear clamor to speedily implement infrastructure projects across the country."

"Utilize airports outside Metro Manila such as Clark. Utilize the Batangas and Subic ports, develop regional airports," Lao said.

Among the priority projects businessmen cited are the North-South Railway Project, the C6 Highway Project, the Cebu bus rapid transit project, and what they claimed as the most important – the Mindanao railway.

They also wanted the review of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the flagship anti-poverty action adopted by the Aquino administration.

"Businessmen perceive this as one that promotes dependency on the government," Lao said, noting that the government must instead give beneficiaries the opportunity to learn skills and land a job which are both "long-term interventions."

Lao said the business community wants infrastructure bottlenecks to be addressed, and the awarded public-private partnership (PPP) projects respected by the incoming administration.

"We look forward to you as our CEO with your whole cabinet as your COOs to assist you. You can give the signal and the whole country will follow," Lao said.
 
In his speech after the presentation, Duterte said the recommendations seemed doable and only need to be implemented. – VDS, GMA News