THE GOVERNMENT’S debt securities outstanding hit P3.895 trillion at end-November, marginally lower than the month prior, as the Treasury failed to award — as planned — securities on offer with the widely anticipated US lift-off pushing rates higher across the board during the period.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation promotes free and open trade and investment thereby increasing competition throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This makes it an opportune time to offer an attractive business environment to foreign investors. One of the tools for attracting foreign investment is fiscal incentives. Currently, several investment promotion agencies (IPAs) such as the Board of Investments, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and others grant tax holidays, investment allowances, accelerated depreciation, reduced corporate income tax rates, and exemptions from indirect taxes, to eligible investors.
THE PROCESS of amending the Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) Law is expected to go smoothly in the Senate, with only one lawmaker expected to raise issues on the recently proclaimed priority measure once the sessions resume in January.
CONTINUED improvements to the local business environment, as well as increased skills training for students, is expected to help drive a sustained decline in unemployment, Department of Finance (DoF) said.
As the business environment for financial institutions grows increasingly more complex and challenging, more and more banks are rethinking their risk management systems to encompass a growing number of nonfinancial risks. In a recent Ernst & Young survey of major financial institutions titled “Rethinking Risk Management,” which included respondents from 29 economies, banks are realizing the need to reengineer some aspects of risk management with new approaches and tools. While the study looks at various aspects of risk, including risk culture, risk appetites, and the impact of Basel III, we will focus on the area of nonfinancial risks as a growing concern for banks, particularly for global systemically important financial institutions (G-SIFI).
THE PROPOSED law which will create a Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), a priority measure, will soon make its way to Malacañang after the Senate fell in line with the House of Representatives version of the bill, thereby eliminating any need for a bicameral conference committee.
THE TRANSPORTATION department postponed to next year the bid submission for the public-private partnership (PPP) deal to operate and maintain the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2, which was scheduled this month, after prospective bidders asked for more time.
If you’re one of the estimated 39.7 million employees in the Philippines, perhaps by now, you may have already received an e-mail or a memo from your employer asking or confirming whether you are qualified for substituted tax filing of your Annual Income Tax Return (BIR Form 1700) for calendar year 2015. Since the Philippines follows the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system for employee’s tax, and is carried out through the withholding tax mechanism, the local employer is constituted as the withholding agent of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). As such, it is responsible to withhold and remit taxes on the Philippine-source compensation income of its employees to the BIR, irrespective of the place of payment of the compensation.
THE GOVERNMENT disbursed more funds drawn down from official development assistance (ODA) facilities in the second quarter but missed its target, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.
DAVAO CITY — The city council passed a resolution on Dec. 14 objecting to the modernization plan for Sasa Port under the public-private partnership (PPP) program, citing the Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DoTC) failure to seek the local government’s endorsement.