Wish lists agree on priorities

MORE BUSINESS GROUPS are pressing Congress for tax policy reforms and laws to improve governance, a review of proposed legislative priorities showed.

The wish lists of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) share several bills which their leaders said were needed to level the playing field, shore up state revenues, and hold the government more accountable.

These come on top of an earlier legislative agenda, released by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), which sought similar measures.

The most common item among the lists is a bill rationalizing fiscal incentives, with all four groups urging the immediate passage of the measure, aimed at streamlining the tax perks granted to direct investments.

The four also sought the passage of the proposed Anti-Smuggling Act which has been touted to prevent state revenue leakages while protecting businesses from illegitimate players.

The proposals also called for the passage of the Simplified Net Income Taxation Act that is said to close loopholes for the self-employed, a unitary tax policy for so-called “sin” products, and the removal of an allegedly discriminatory tax on foreign airlines.

“The easier tax policy is, the more competitive we are vis-a-vis our neighbors,” AmCham Executive Director Robert M. Sears said in a telephone interview yesterday.

“We have to review current taxes, current incentives that favor some over others. Otherwise, some of us are at a disadvantage,” FPI Chairman Jesus L. Arranza said in a separate telephone interview.

Some of the wishlists likewise converged on bills that seek to strengthen protection for and services to business by either punishing crimes or improving governance.

The American and European chambers were one with the PCCI, for instance, in renewing calls for the establishment of the Department of Information and Communications Technology and for the passage of the Freedom of Access to Information Act and the Anti-Trust Act, which the previous Congress had failed to deliver.

Other proposed governance measures include the restructuring of the Trade department, the Cybercrime Act, and amendments to the build-operate-transfer law.

The American chamber’s list comprises 102 measures, the European chamber 18, and the FPI 20. The PCCI’s list features 12 measures.

The foreign chambers will be meeting next week to draft a consolidated short list of “easy to do” measures, ECCP Executive Vice-President Henry J. Schumacher said.

Proposals still have to be submitted to Congress but the mood seems to be receptive, he claimed.

“I think we’re moving in the same areas. By and large, the business community and most government sectors are aligned,” Mr. Schumacher said.

Mr. Sears agreed, saying: “We’re encouraged by what the President said in his State of the Nation Address of having the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council more active.”

Last week, House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. said, “Most bills from the 14th Congress have been refiled so they’ll go through the mill again.”

“Definitely, we’re very open to the business sector and their aspirations,” Mr. Belmonte said.  –JESSICA ANNE D. HERMOSA, Senior Reporter, BUsinessworld