House bill forgives tax breach for P25
By Chito Lozada - Daily Tribune
A House-approved bill seeking to grant tax amnesty to firms within special economic zones outside Subic Bay is practically letting offenders get off for less than a song, a mere P25 in fact, and to off it off, this measly sum is payable in six months.
A copy of House Bill 4900 provided the Tribune, stated the tax amnesty will cover “all applicable tax and duty liabilities, inclusive of fines, penalties, interests and other additions thereto, incurred by them or that might have accrued to them,” which runs to millions of pesos since backtaxes would have to be collected for 13 years since 1993.
Sen. Alfredo Lim is now asking whether there was an error in composing of the bill or if this was deliberately inserted, during the printing process.
HB 4900 grants tax amnesty to businesses located at the special economic zones in Clark, John Hay and Poro Point after the Supreme Court declared that the tax incentives and duty-free privileges enjoyed by the locators in the three zones as unconstitutional in the absence of an enabling law from Congress.
The high court said only locators in the Subic Bay Special Economic and Freeport Zone have such expressed privileges, prompting investors in other economic zones to threaten withdrawal of their investments that provide thousands of jobs to surrounding communities.
Lim noted the error during the public hearing of the Senate committee on ways and means on the bill which sought the granting of tax amnesty to business enterprises operating within the special economic zones and freeports in Clark, John Hay, Poro Point and Morong.
“I was shocked when, upon reading the said bill, the proposed amount of amnesty was only P25,” Lim said.
He pointed out businesses operating in the said special economic zones and freeports had not paid their taxes since 1993 because they were wrongly exempted by virtue of presidential proclamations.
After the Supreme Court struck down the said proclamations as unconstitutional, the business owners concerned should now pay back taxes covering a period of more than 10 years.
“Asking them to pay only P25 and granting the amnesty with immunity is totally absurd and is the highest form of injustice to other taxpayers,” the senator stressed.
“What will the government get out of collecting a microscopic amount of P25 which is not even enough to cover the cost of documentation?” he added.
Lim though, did not discount the possibility that the said error may have been just typographical, saying the House might have meant 25 percent, instead of P25.
This, he said, can be explained by the fact that if the proposal was really only P25, the bill could have simply stated “tax of P25.”
Evidently, it was the use of the term “rate” before “P25” in the bill, which stated: “tax amnesty at the rate of P25 on non-paying businesses in special economic zones” that convincingly suggests it referred to a percentage.
“Just the same, the Senate will definitely not allow such errors to pass uncorrected, whether they be deliberate or not,” Lim stressed.
A copy of House Bill 4900 provided the Tribune, stated the tax amnesty will cover “all applicable tax and duty liabilities, inclusive of fines, penalties, interests and other additions thereto, incurred by them or that might have accrued to them,” which runs to millions of pesos since backtaxes would have to be collected for 13 years since 1993.
Sen. Alfredo Lim is now asking whether there was an error in composing of the bill or if this was deliberately inserted, during the printing process.
HB 4900 grants tax amnesty to businesses located at the special economic zones in Clark, John Hay and Poro Point after the Supreme Court declared that the tax incentives and duty-free privileges enjoyed by the locators in the three zones as unconstitutional in the absence of an enabling law from Congress.
The high court said only locators in the Subic Bay Special Economic and Freeport Zone have such expressed privileges, prompting investors in other economic zones to threaten withdrawal of their investments that provide thousands of jobs to surrounding communities.
Lim noted the error during the public hearing of the Senate committee on ways and means on the bill which sought the granting of tax amnesty to business enterprises operating within the special economic zones and freeports in Clark, John Hay, Poro Point and Morong.
“I was shocked when, upon reading the said bill, the proposed amount of amnesty was only P25,” Lim said.
He pointed out businesses operating in the said special economic zones and freeports had not paid their taxes since 1993 because they were wrongly exempted by virtue of presidential proclamations.
After the Supreme Court struck down the said proclamations as unconstitutional, the business owners concerned should now pay back taxes covering a period of more than 10 years.
“Asking them to pay only P25 and granting the amnesty with immunity is totally absurd and is the highest form of injustice to other taxpayers,” the senator stressed.
“What will the government get out of collecting a microscopic amount of P25 which is not even enough to cover the cost of documentation?” he added.
Lim though, did not discount the possibility that the said error may have been just typographical, saying the House might have meant 25 percent, instead of P25.
This, he said, can be explained by the fact that if the proposal was really only P25, the bill could have simply stated “tax of P25.”
Evidently, it was the use of the term “rate” before “P25” in the bill, which stated: “tax amnesty at the rate of P25 on non-paying businesses in special economic zones” that convincingly suggests it referred to a percentage.
“Just the same, the Senate will definitely not allow such errors to pass uncorrected, whether they be deliberate or not,” Lim stressed.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
9:20 AM
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