Maniolas

If you have a son or daughter who is thinking of studying in the US, I hope you were able to catch our short interview on our TV show, Business & Leisure with one of the key staff members of the US Embassy.  In the last two weeks, we had two officials from the US Embassy talk about their sections’ respective roles and their relevance to Philippine concerns. Mr. Jim McCarthy from the Foreign Commercial Service of the US Embassy graced the show and talked about his section’s crucial role in matching business partnerships between American and Philippine companies. This section was formed back in the ’80s primarily to promote US exports to different countries. Since 2009, according to Jim McCarthy, trade between our two countries has been increasing steadily so that by now, the two-way trail of trade is about $18 billion. The Foreign Commercial Service’s responsibility is to link US companies who come here looking for potential Philippine partners or buyers with the right Philippine parties, form trade missions, and arrange “gold key” appointments which are really one-on-one meetings between key representatives from US and local businesses. They also have what they call single company promotions for companies wanting to launch a new business or just looking to expand their existing business in the Philippines. Part of their mandate is to support the small and medium American companies and to educate them on the market opportunities here in various fields and match them with small and medium Philippine Read More …

In a report, Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA chief Emmanuel Esguerra said inflation – the measure of how fast prices in the choice basket of goods and services are moving within a certain period – eased to 1.3 percent in January from 1.5 percent in December 2015 and 2.4 percent a year earlier. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The increase in prices of basic goods and services in the country slowed in January as costs of food items remained stable, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said yesterday. In a report, Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA chief Emmanuel Esguerra said inflation – the measure of how fast prices in the choice basket of goods and services are moving within a certain period – eased to 1.3 percent in January from 1.5 percent in December 2015 and 2.4 percent a year earlier. He said inflation for the food subgroup  – which account for more than a third of the basket – slowed as prices of fish, fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese, and eggs became stable. “Good weather conditions at the onset of 2016 allowed prices of these food items to stabilize. This was an improvement from the previous month when Typhoon Nona pushed up prices due to hampered production, transport, and delivery of agricultural products in the affected areas,” Esguerra added. The January inflation rate fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas target of 0.8-1.6 percent for the period, and exactly in line with market consensus. Inflation in non-food items also Read More …

THE PHILIPPINES can take advantage of capital flows from aging Asian economies by opening up local industries such as manufacturing and agribusiness, an analyst said, which could further prop up foreign direct investment (FDI) and create more jobs.

A tax refund is one of the most tedious processes in our tax system, if not the most. Refunds are in the nature of tax exemptions construed strictly against the taxpayer. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the taxpayer is at the mercy of government power. In our system of taxation, statutory procedures protect the rights of the taxpayer.