Mabagal na pagpasa ng tax measures may epekto sa ekonomiya

Kamara

NAGBABALA si House committee on Ways and Means chairman at Albay Rep. Joey Salceda sa hindi magandang epekto sa ekonomiya nang pagpapatagal sa pagsasabatas ng comprehensive tax reform program.

Ginawa ni Salceda ang pahayag matapos sabihin ng Fitch Solutions, isang international credit benchmarker, na nagdudulot ng pangamba sa mga foreign direct investors ang hindi pagsasabatas ng mga panukalang tax measure.

“When it comes to economic decisiveness, there is no bigger money than time. The more time you lose over policy uncertainty, the greater your foregone growth is. Sayang yun, nakatulong sana ngayong COVID-19,” ani Salceda.

Sinabi ni Fitch Solutions Senior Country Risk Analyst Michael Langham na ang hindi agad pagpasa ng 2019 national budget at pagkabigo na maisabatas ang mga tax reform measures ay nagpabagal sa pagpasok ng investment. Bumaba ito ng 23.1 porsyento kumpara sa $7.647 bilyon noong 2018.

Noong 2018 ay inaprubahan ng Duterte administration ang pagpasa ng mga tax measures. Naipasa na ito ng Kamara de Representantes subalit nakabinbin pa rin sa Senado.

Sa dalawang taong pagkabigo na maisabatas ang Package 2 ng tax reform, nawala umano sa bansa ang US$6-12 bilyon.

“I first filed this reform when I was a freshman congressman, when I authored the Subsidy Council Act in 1998. I pushed for this again, as the proposed Investment Code, in 2006. I am now in my fifth term, and I have filed this every term, in improved versions. The economic losses we are suffering by not passing this is immense, and I cannot even begin to imagine the size of the opportunity cost if I counted back to 1998.”

Sa ilalim ng panukala ni Salceda ibaba sa 20% ang 30% Corporate Income Tax na makapapantay sa buwis na ipinapataw sa ibang bansa. Kasama rin dito ang pagbibigay ng incentives para sa mga magagaling na investor.

“I will be very frank: even if you were a country with the ugliest investment code in the world, as long as you are legally open to FDIs and as long as your policy is set, someone will find your country to be suited to their specific needs. And CREATE will make the country’s investment incentives one of the world’s best and most accountable,” dagdag pa ni Salceda.