House OKs estate tax amnesty bill on final reading, urges Senate to do the same [ABS-CBN News, May 15, 2023]
Voting 259-0, the House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading House Bill 7909, which seeks to extend the coverage and period of availment of the Estate Tax Amnesty by 2 more years or until 2025.
House passes bill redefining illegal recruitment syndicates on final reading [The Philippine Star, May 15, 2023]
Under House Bill 7718, which was unanimously approved with 260 favorable votes Monday, the country’s existing laws will be tweaked to specify that the offense of illegal recruitment by a syndicate can now be done by two individuals who do not possess licenses or authority.
Grab Philippines fined P9-M over delayed refunds [The Philippine Star, May 15, 2023]
A PCC statement on Monday said this new fine will be added to the P63.7 million in penalties stockpiled over the years since Grab was flagged by antitrust regulators when the company acquired Uber’s local operations back in 2018.
Gov't employees to get midyear bonus starting May 15 —DBM [GMA News Online, May 14, 2023]
In a statement, DBM said that the midyear bonus is equivalent to one-month basic pay as of May 15, and shall be given to entitled civil servants who have rendered at least a total or aggregate of four months of service from July 1, 2022 to May 15, 2023.
Marcos: Global firm to invest in PH's bid to regain footing in shipbuilding [Manila Bulletin, May 14, 2023]
Cerberus acquired Subic shipyard in 2022 and has invested US$40 million to make the shipyard operational again. Currently, the Philippine Navy has a naval operating base in Subic with 800 personnel.
Phinma raises stake in education, hotels and real estate in P 2.8-B deal [Inquirer Mobile, May 13, 2023]
Phinma’s board approved the acquisition of parent firm Phinma Inc.’s shares in Phinma Education Holdings, Phinma Property Holdings, Phinma Hospitality, Phinma Microtel Hotels and ABCIC Property Holdings for P2.35 billion, a stock exchange filing on Friday showed.
New eats: Tagaytay fave Breakfast at Antonio’s opens in QC [ABS-CBN News, May 13, 2023]
The Tagaytay favorite Breakfast at Antonio’s on Friday finally opened its doors in the heart of the metro, with the launch of its newest branch at Robinsons Magnolia in Quezon City.
SM group to build new school buildings in Laguna, Batangas [The Philippine Star, May 12, 2023]
Upon the completion of the joint initiative, two two-story, four-classroom school buildings will be donated to the Laguna Resettlement Community School in San Pedro City, Laguna and the San Antonio Elementary School in Sto. Tomas City, Batangas.
PH to incentivize firms willing to sign up for war vs plastics [Inquirer Mobile, May 12, 2023]
“We’ll target it (the promulgation) probably within or after one year because everything is still being set up,” Environment Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh told the Inquirer. She was referring to the incentive plan in support of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law.
BIR: Billions in VAT lost to ‘ghost receipts’ [The Philippine Star, May 11, 2023]
Last month, Lumagui formed the Run After Fake Transactions to go after those using fake receipts to evade paying taxes.
BIR goes after own employee, wife for P6.4-B tax fraud [ABS-CBN News, May 11, 2023]
The Bureau of Internal Revenue is going after its own employee and his wife for allegedly selling and installing software that would suppress the amount of sales in point-of-sales machines to keep the taxes of their customers down.
BIR beats target, rakes in P850 billion [The Philippine Star, May 11, 2023]
Initial data obtained by The STAR showed that collections from January to April reached P846.7 billion, up 14 percent from the P742.37 billion generated in the same period last year.
BIR amends tax exemption rules for foreign dividend recipients [BusinessWorld, May 10, 2023]
In Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 5-2023, which amends RR No. 5-2021, the BIR said the RR deals with documents domestic corporations need to submit to be exempt.
Ejercito pushes for Senate bill on automatic income classification for LGUs [Manila Bulletin, May 10, 2023]
The bill primarily seeks to institutionalize the automatic classification of the LGUs where provinces, cities and municipalites shall be classified into six income classes that reflect their true financial capability and position.
Amid rise of AI, BPOs need Filipinos' empathy —IBPAP [GMA News Online, May 9, 2023]
While artificial intelligence (AIs) in the workplace is on the rise, an association for the information technology and business process management industry said Filipinos will still be needed for jobs in the sector because of their skills.
Bill imposing stiffer penalties for tax fraud clears House panel hurdle [The Philippine Star, May 9, 2023]
The House ways and means committee approved on Tuesday a measure imposing graver penalties on tax fraud, which includes selling counterfeit receipts to reduce income tax and VAT liabilities under the veil of fictitious transactions.
House panel approves bill on anti-tax racketeering [Philippine News Agency, May 9, 2023]
Tax racketeering involves engaging in any coordinated scheme or operation to evade or defeat any tax imposed under the tax code through the fraudulent use of receipts, returns and other records, with a minimum amount of PHP10 million.
Power generated by conventionally-fueled plants ruled ineligible for income tax holiday [BusinessWorld, May 9, 2023]
In Memorandum Circular No. 2023-003 series of 2023 dated April 20 and published in a newspaper on May 6, the BoI said “revenue from sales of electricity sourced by power generation projects utilizing conventional fuels, waste heat, and other wastes from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) shall not be entitled to income tax holiday.”
BIR urged to reconsider plans to impose 1% withholding tax on online sellers [GMA New Online, May 8, 2023]
The United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to reconsider its plan to impose a creditable withholding tax of 1% on online sellers.
E-motorcycles inclusion in import tax breaks to be considered, says NEDA chief [The Philippine Star, May 8, 2023]
Under the EO12, various EVs and their components received lower tariff rates from the previous 5% to 30% to now 0% import duty, with the exception of e-motorcycles as they are excluded from the tariff suspension and are still subject to 30% import duty.
