The Senate is being urged to follow the House of Representatives in approving a second tax reform package that has been opposed by business groups and even some government agencies. The House of Representatives earlier this month approved its version of the measure, the proposed Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Higher Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) Act. Investments slowdown seenOn Saturday, senior officials of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) also expressed concerns of an investment slowdown. As passed, the Trabaho bill will cut the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from the current 30 percent—said to be the highest in the region—by two percentage points every two years beginning 2021 up to 2029. “The proposal to lower corporate income tax rates is unlikely to result in a tangible boost to investment without an improvement to the business environment,” Fitch Solutions Macro Research said in a September 20 report.

Source: Manila Times September 23, 2018 16:18 UTC