Crisis-hit firms get tax perks

President Gloria Arroyo has approved this year’s Investment Priority Plan, which lists the industries that are entitled to fiscal incentives, taking into account the residual effect of the global meltdown in 2009.

In Memorandum Order No. 314, Mrs. Arroyo said the investment plan will take effect on June 5.

The plan also has a contingency list of projects or industries that need fiscal incentives to be able to ride out the 2009 crisis. Under the contingency list, projects or activities that took a heavy battering from the global crisis will enjoy incentives provided that they will maintain the current number of workers, or reinstate laid-off workers to equal their pre-crisis number, or hire more workers.

The fiscal incentives include but are not limited to income tax holiday, duty-free importation of equipment and machinery, and tax-deductible labor expenses, according to the plan.

New projects of micro- and small-enterprises will also enjoy fiscal incentives that the government has yet to specify.

Projects that have obtained relief from the global meltdown, however, will lose their incentives once the National Economic and Development Authority rules that the crisis is over.

“Green projects or activities that would lead to efficient use of energy, prevent pollution, and make use of cleaner technologies or reduce emission of greenhouse gases are now included in the regular list of the investment priority.

New additions to the list are projects related to disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery such as flood control systems, dikes, installation of early warning systems for typhoons and earthquakes, among others.

Among the activities that were retained in the regular list that will enjoy incentives are the following:

• production and processing of agricultural and marine products, biofuels, feeds and fertilizers;

• those related to air, water, and mass rail transport, water supply and/or distribution, power generation projects, waste management facilities, mass housing, pipeline projects for oil and gas, and others under the Build-Operate-Transfer law;

• manufacturing particularly of machinery, equipment and parts and components for shipbuilding; equipment for air, water and land transport; and cement, modular housing components, and iron and steel products;

• business process outsourcing, specifically voice and non-voice information technology-enabled services; creative industries including non-BPO and IT-enables services, film, TV and theater arts production;

• strategic activities or projects with high social economic returns particularly those that will generate employment of at least 1,000, require investments not lower than $300 million, and use new, emerging and technologically advanced products or services;

• and research and development (R&D), particularly in-house R&D activities, establishment of Centers of Excellence, and skills development training institutions.

Activities related to tourism, which was part of the regular list under the previous IPP, was moved to the mandatory list with the signing of Republic Act No. 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009. –Joyce Pangco Pañares, Manila Standard Today