Tag Archives: senate

Liberalization of public service: An amendment to the 85-year-old Public Service Act

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On December 15, 2021, senators approved on third reading the Senate Bill No. 2094; garnering votes of 18-3-0 in favor of amending the Commonwealth Act No. 146 or the Public Service Act of 1936. The country was long held back by its underinvested public service infrastructure which in turn prohibited healthy market competition and resulted in high service costs that burden both direct consumers and exporters in general.

The Export Development Council-Networking Committee on Legislative Advocacy and Monitoring (EDC-NCLAM) advocated for the liberalization of telecommunications and common carriers in the previous version of the bill. Hence, this development in liberalizing our economy is greatly supported by the EDC. These amendments will reduce the cost of inter-island shipping by paving the way for competition in the shipping industry.
Continue reading → Liberalization of public service: An amendment to the 85-year-old Public Service Act

Senate passes the CREATE bill on final reading

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The Senate Bill No. 1357 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Bill, formerly known as Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA) was passed on its third and final reading by the Senate on 26 November 2020 with twenty out of twenty-one (20/21) senators voted in favor, and one (1) opposed.

Once it has been enacted into law, corporate income taxes (CIT) will be reduced from 30% to 25%, time-bound & performance-based incentives will be induced, and fiscal incentives will be rationalized to further attract necessary foreign direct investments.
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