TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [MAY 14-17] FIRB LATEST ADVISORY ON FISCAL INCENTIVES REGISTRATION & MONITORING SYSTEM, ANNUAL TAX INCENTIVES REPORT & ANNUAL BENEFITS REPORTS FIRB SETS THE DEADLINE OF THE FILING OF ANNUAL TAX INCENTIVES REPORT & ANNUAL BUSINESS REPORTS PURSUANT TO CREATE LAW TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [MAY 10-13] PHILHEALTH ADVISORY ON THE INCREASE IN PREMIUM CONTRIBUTIONS
| 1. TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [MAY 14-17] | | New minimum wage exempts small firms PH needs P326 billion yearly to pay debts South Cotabato lifts open-pit mining ban, paves way for Tampakan project: official PhilHealth rejects P 445-M claims by 3 gov’t hospitals Palace issues EO adopting digital payments for gov't disbursements, collections Duterte signs law granting night shift differential pay to gov't employees Big banks’ bad loans ratio improves Duterte signs law raising military retirement age Gov’t debt payments decline 40% in Q1 BSP padlocks Bulacan bank Exempt micro-enterprises from wage increase order — Concepcion Minimum daily wage for NCR workers up by P33, up to P110 in Western Visayas Rules for geography-based intellectual property readied BI opens bay service one-stop-shop at Manila port BSP seals gold buy deal with re-opened Didipio mine DepEd: Comelec is responsible for processing, releasing election-related honoraria
| We saw these tax and business-related news on various news sites, and we thought you should see them. DMD is not responsible for the content of these news, and anything written thereon does not necessarily reflect DMD views or opinions. | New minimum wage exempts small firms [Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 17, 2022] Maria Criselda Sy, executive director of the National Wage and Productivity Commission (NWPC), said applications for exemption from the minimum wage were allowed under the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989, or Republic Act No. 6727. PH needs P326 billion yearly to pay debts [Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 17, 2022] The next administration will need at least P326 billion in new revenues each year to cover the principal and interest payments for the country’s debts incurred amid the COVID-19 pandemic. South Cotabato lifts open-pit mining ban, paves way for Tampakan project: official [ABS-CBN News, May 17, 2022] The Tampakan project on Mindanao island has been described by its developer Sagittarius Mines as "one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world." PhilHealth rejects P 445-M claims by 3 gov’t hospitals [Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 17, 2022] Three government hospitals in Quezon City have over P445.069 million in claims that were denied or returned by the state health insurer due to incomplete documents and other deficiencies. Palace issues EO adopting digital payments for gov't disbursements, collections [Manila Bulletin, May 16, 2022] Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea signed President Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) No. 170 on May 12, 2022, directing the adoption of digital payments for government disbursements to facilitate the expedient distribution of financial assistance to beneficiaries. Duterte signs law granting night shift differential pay to gov't employees [Manila Bulletin, May 16, 2022] President Duterte has signed into law the bill granting government employees a night-shift differential at a rate not exceeding 20 percent of the hourly basic rate of the employee. Big banks’ bad loans ratio improves [Manila Bulletin, May 16, 2022] The country’s 45 universal and commercial banks’ non-performing loans (NPL) ratio improved to 3.73 percent as of end-March, the lowest since December 2021. Duterte signs law raising military retirement age [Manila Bulletin, May 16, 2022] President Duterte has signed a law increasing the mandatory retirement age of key officials in the military to up to 60 years old. Gov’t debt payments decline 40% in Q1 [Manila Bulletin, May 15, 2022] Debt payments by the national government declined significantly in the first-quarter due to lower amortization, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed. BSP padlocks Bulacan bank [The Philippine Star, May 15, 2022] BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said the Monetary Board issued a resolution last May 12 prohibiting the Farmers Savings and Loan Bank Inc. from doing business in the Philippines as mandated under Republic Act 7653 or The Central Bank Act. Exempt micro-enterprises from wage increase order — Concepcion [Manila Bulletin, May 15, 2022] Concepcion said this after the wage boards of Metro Manila and Western Visayas approved an increase in the minimum wage for workers in various sectors in the regions. Minimum daily wage for NCR workers up by P33, up to P110 in Western Visayas [Manila Bulletin, May 14, 2022] This means that the workers in Metro Manila will receive a minimum of P570 daily pay for those in the non-agriculture sector and P533 for agriculture sector. The last Wage Order for workers in private establishments in Metro Manila was on November 22, 2018. Rules for geography-based intellectual property readied [Inquirer Mobile, May 14, 2022] The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has drafted the implementing rules and regulations on geographical indications (GI)—which essentially identify a good to a specific locality—in a bid to strengthen the protection of these products in the country. BI opens bay service one-stop-shop at Manila port [Manila Bulletin, May 14, 2022] The new office, located at Pier 15, South Harbor, will serve as a 24/7 outpost for on-duty boarding officers for arriving and departing vessels at the port of Manila. BSP seals gold buy deal with re-opened Didipio mine [Inquirer Mobile, May 14, 2022] The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has secured gold supply from OceanaGold Philippines Inc. as part of efforts to capture local output of the precious metal not only from small-scale miners but also from large-scale operators. DepEd: Comelec is responsible for processing, releasing election-related honoraria [Manila Bulletin, May 14, 2022] DepEd said that it is “eager to return the favor to our teachers” by constantly coordinating with the Comelec on the release of their poll honoraria and other allowances on or before May 24, 2022, as provided for by COMELEC Resolution No. 10727. | 2. FIRB LATEST ADVISORY ON FISCAL INCENTIVES REGISTRATION & MONITORING SYSTEM, ANNUAL TAX INCENTIVES REPORT & ANNUAL BENEFITS REPORTS | In an Advisory dated May 13, 2022, the FIRB has advised all Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs), and Other Registered Entities (OREs) on the following areas of concerns relative to the Fiscal Incentives Registration and Monitoring System (FIRMS), Annual Tax Incentives Report, and Annual Benefits Reports (ABR): 1. FIRMS observes a one-to-one relationship between a user account and the corresponding TIN. 2. For the purpose of filling-out Form B in FIRMS, the start date of tax incentives for projects/activities shall refer to the date when the RBE first availed of the specific tax incentive based on its initial and original registration with the IPA. 3. If the address of the locator is not found in the drop-down list in Form A, indicate the nearest local government unit having jurisdiction over the RBE. 4. Locators entitled to and will be availing of tax incentives for the year are required to apply for the CETI from the IPA. 5. FIRMS will serve as a centralized portal for approving and monitoring tax incentives and will be used to enroll existing and prospective RBEs. FIRB encourages everyone to create their user accounts already. 6. If the Company disclosed that it has a Parent Company in its General Information Sheet (GIS), then accomplish the Parent Company information. 7. As the FIRMS module only allows one account registered per RBE, the entity should designate a permanent email that will be used. 8. The registration date of the Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption (CRTE) refers to the first and original registration date for the project and should not be confused with the renewal dates of the CRTE. 9. The list of shareholders to be disclosed in FIRMS shall be updated annually. 10. Form B shall be accomplished for each registered project/activity. 11. BOI-registered companies which are only entitled to local tax exemption still need to register under FIRMS. 12. TIMTA is no longer required for registered projects or activities whose tax incentives have already expired and did not avail of any tax incentive during the taxable year. 13. The ATIR and ABR to be submitted this May 2022 shall include those under calendar year ending December 31, 2021 and those under fiscal year with an annual closing date earlier than December 31, 2021 (January 1, 2021 to December 30, 2021). 14. Projects that suffered a net loss or gross loss are still required to submit the templates. 15. If the RBEs already submitted their ATIR and ABR using the older version, they are still required to submit the reports using the new templates. 16. Tentative ATIRs and ABRs shall be accepted this May 18, 2022. The final and amended templates shall be accepted until June 15, 2022. 17. Even if the project is not yet operational, it is still required to comply with the requirement, with a notation that it is not yet operational. 18. The ATIR and ABR will be submitted as a spreadsheet to the IPAs and the FIRB Secretariat. Notarization is not required. 19. CREATE incentives can be availed by new and existing enterprises, as long as the project or activity to be registered is listed in the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP). However, for existing enterprises, incentives may be granted only to qualified expansions or entirely new projects. 20. If there are differences in tax incentives of multiple sites, it would be best to report per location so that the various tax incentives per location will be captured. 21. When encoding, encode the full numerical value. 22. If RBEs have multiple projects/activities registered, they shall use an allocation method that best suits the distribution of assets or loans. 23. The total count of employees to be reported in Annex B.3 shall include employees hired and who were terminated or who resigned during the year. 24. The PSIC code can be found on the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) website. | 3. FIRB SETS THE DEADLINE OF THE FILING OF ANNUAL TAX INCENTIVES REPORT & ANNUAL BUSINESS REPORTS PURSUANT TO CREATE LAW | In an Advisory dated May 12, 2022, the FIRB has advised all Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs), and Other Registered Entities (OREs) that the deadline to submit the Annual Tax Incentives Report (ATIR) and Annual Benefits Report (ABR) shall be on or before May 18, 2022, subject to adjustments or amendments (if applicable), to be resubmitted on or before June 15, 2022. RBEs and OREs are advised to electronically submit their ATIR and ABR to their respective IPAs, copy furnishing the FIRB Secretariat at firbmeg@ntrc.gov.ph. It may be recalled that CREATE Law has expanded the functions of FIRB to include policymaking and oversight functions. Under Section 305 of the Tax Code, as amended by the CREATE Law, the ATIR and ABR shall be submitted within thirty (30) calendar days from the statutory deadline for filing of tax returns and payment of taxes to the concerned IPA and simultaneously to the FIRB | 4. TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [MAY 10-13] | | DTI approves price increase on 82 basic, prime goods SC Justice Bernabe retires May 14; 6 nominated by JBC to vacant post Investment company bags Dennis Uy’s Clark, Pampanga assets Philippines offers compelling investment opportunities for Asian property buyers Asset sale pushed Jollibee profit to swell by 1,400% in Q1 Philippines fast becoming key market for Korean military hardware Japanese motor maker infuses P 40B more into PH operations Starlink now available to ship immediately in 32 countries Cebu Pacific operator widens losses on higher expenses 5K-km submarine cable to connect PH, SEA, Hong Kong by 2024 Elon Musk’s most bizarre predictions – including ‘million-strong’ Mars SpaceX colony by 2050 Waterfront city in Mandaue seen to generate thousands of jobs in Cebu City of Winnipeg considers permanent remote working plan for employees P277M cash assistance to be distributed to 49K Cebu City beneficiaries on May 13 Meralco rolls back power rates in May due to ERC refund order SOON: 50 Minutes travel from Makati to Clark International Airport
| We saw these tax and business-related news on various news sites, and we thought you should see them. DMD is not responsible for the content of these news, and anything written thereon does not necessarily reflect DMD views or opinions. | DTI approves price increase on 82 basic, prime goods [CNN, May 13, 2022] Among the products which now have a higher SRP are drinking water in bottles and containers, canned fish, processed and canned pork, processed and canned beef, processed milk, vinegar, soy sauce, and fish sauce or patis. SC Justice Bernabe retires May 14; 6 nominated by JBC to vacant post [Manila Bulletin, May 13, 2022] Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe retires on Saturday, May 14, when she turns 70, the mandatory retirement age for members of the judiciary. Investment company bags Dennis Uy’s Clark, Pampanga assets [Rappler, May 13, 2022] In a press release sent on Friday, May 13, Aeropark Development Philippines Incorporated (ADPI), a special purpose entity owned by CarVal Investors, said that it acquired West Aeropark, a five-building development previously owned by Udenna Land’s Global Gateway Development Corporation (GGDC) in Clark Global City, Pampanga for an undisclosed amount. Philippines offers compelling investment opportunities for Asian property buyers [The Philippine Star, May 13, 2022] As the global economy climbs out of the COVID-19-induced slowdown, investors are discovering new gems in the Asian property landscape, which has seen tectonic shifts in the aftermath of the pandemic. Foremost among these is the Philippines, site of a landmark project by two leading property developers in the region: Hongkong Land and Robinsons Land Corporation. Asset sale pushed Jollibee profit to swell by 1,400% in Q1 [Inquirer Mobile, May 13, 2022] This was after the company recorded a P1.8-billion gain from land transfers to CentralHub Industrial Centers, a subsidiary of Tan Caktiong’s DoubleDragon Properties Corp., and other real estate assets. Philippines fast becoming key market for Korean military hardware [The Philippine Star, May 13, 2022] Last year, the Philippines signed a contract agreement worth P28 billion with Hyundai Heavy Industries for two modern corvettes capable of anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare. Japanese motor maker infuses P 40B more into PH operations [Inquirer Mobile, May 13, 2022] Nidec, a leading producer of motors found in hard disk drives, automobiles, consumer and industrial equipment, would break ground for a new facility sometime in the third quarter of this year, DTI said in a statement on Thursday. Starlink now available to ship immediately in 32 countries [The Verge, May 13, 2022] SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink is now available in 32 countries around the world, the company has announced. Impressively, Elon Musk’s space company says it’ll ship “immediately,” contrary to earlier issues that caused customers to wait months to receive their dishes. Cebu Pacific operator widens losses on higher expenses [Inquirer Mobile, May 13, 2022] Higher expenses, which was magnified by a one-off loss, sunk the operator of Cebu Pacific further into red territory in the first quarter despite its total revenues growing more than twofold as passenger volume rose. 5K-km submarine cable to connect PH, SEA, Hong Kong by 2024 [Philippine News Agency, May 12, 2022] In a statement on Thursday, fiber broadband provider Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Uy announced his company’s involvement in the SEA Hainan-Hong Kong Express (SEA-H2X) cable system -- a 5,000-kilometer (km) long submarine optical cable utilizing at least eight fiber pairs between Singapore to Hong Kong with a system design capacity of 160 terabits per second (Tbps). Elon Musk’s most bizarre predictions – including ‘million-strong’ Mars SpaceX colony by 2050 [The U.S. Sun, May 12, 2022] Among other things, the billionaire Tesla chief believes he can set up a colony on Mars and cure obesity all within the next few decades. Waterfront city in Mandaue seen to generate thousands of jobs in Cebu [Cebu Daily News, May 12, 2022] The 101-hectare reclamation project will be built along the Mactan Channel, near the Marcelo Fernan Bridge. It is centrally located about 2.7 kilometers from the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA). City of Winnipeg considers permanent remote working plan for employees [Global News, May 11, 2022] The City of Winnipeg is beginning to roll out a flexible workplace program which would keep some city employees at home permanently, even once the pandemic is a thing of the past. P277M cash assistance to be distributed to 49K Cebu City beneficiaries on May 13 [Cebu Daily News, May 11, 2022] The Cebu City Treasurer’s Office is now preparing the pay roll-out for the P277 million cash assistance, aid, and honoraria to 49,802 beneficiaries on May 13, 2022. Meralco rolls back power rates in May due to ERC refund order [GMA News Online, May 11, 2022] The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Wednesday announced a rollback in its electricity rate for May, snapping a two-month trend of upward adjustments, thanks to the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) order for the power distributor to refund around P7.8 billion in excess collections. SOON: 50 Minutes travel from Makati to Clark International Airport [Manila Bulletin, May 10, 2022] According to Bi Yong Chungunco, CEO, Luzon International Premier Airport Development Corporation (LIPAD) the soon to be operational express train from Makati City to CRK will cut the travel time to less than an hour. This will be made possible through the Airport Railway Express Service that is part of the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) North-South Commuter Railway project (NSCR). | 5. PHILHEALTH ADVISORY ON THE INCREASE IN PREMIUM CONTRIBUTIONS | In an Advisory pursuant to PhilHealth Advisory No. 2022-0010, PhilHealth has advised all Direct Contributors that the premium rate for Calendar Year 2022 is 4.0%, with an income floor of Php 10,000 and income ceiling of Php 80,000 effective January 2022. The said increase is pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, and in accordance with PhiiHealth Circular No. 2020-0005 on the "Premium Contribution Schedule in the National Health Insurance Program (Revision 1). The adjusted premium rate shall take effect in the Electronic Premium Remittance System (EPRS) and the PhilHealth Member Portal starting June 2022. Members and employers who have already paid their contributions at 3% are advised to generate the corresponding Statement of Premium Account for the paid periods so they can settle the 1% differential payments/ remittances until December 31, 2022. | DOWNLOAD OUR PAST EDITIONS & FULL TEXT OF REFERENCES https://weeklytaxupdates.getresponsesite.com/ | |
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