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DESPITE the onslaught of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, which affected global economies, Southeast Asia remains home to some of the growing economies expected to recover the fastest. The region is still considered to be a hotbed for foreign investments. Home to countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and the Philippines, economic experts and analysts see great potential for the region to become an economic powerhouse in Asia despite the setbacks brought by the health crisis.

Over the years, the determination of expenses to be allowed as deduction to gross income has been a lingering issue with enterprises registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza). The controversy stems from the conflicting interpretations of the courts and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on the provisions of Revenue Regulation (RR) 11-2005 as to whether the list of allowable deductions is exclusive or not.

And so, it came to pass. The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Bill, though with vetoed provisions, was finally signed by the President on March 26 as Republic Act No. 11534. After years of waiting for the lowering of the corporate income tax and the rationalization of fiscal incentives, we now have the law just waiting to be published to be effective.

With the aim to deliver fast and reliable services to its members, the Social Security System (SSS) has maximized the My.SSS Member Account in processing simple corrections on members’ data.

A year earlier, at the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the overall picture for global financial markets looked grim. Economies were left reeling from the impacts of the pandemic, with various industries recording significant decline in revenues. Several disruptions in supply chain processes as well as the imperative to prioritize a new work setup only added salt to the wound already sustained by businesses which struggled to stay afloat during the new normal.

The sleepless nights of most accountants will end less than a month from now, as the last day of filing annual income tax returns (ITR) for corporations whose taxable year ended December 31, 2020 is on the 15th of April. However, most of these companies are hoping that this due date will still be extended because, starting this week, the National Capital Region, along with other nearby provinces, will be observing a strict form of community quarantine. On top of this, some taxpayers are still struggling to comply with new requirements on transfer pricing (TP) and the impact of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives (CREATE) Bill which is expected to be signed or lapse into law soon.

THE RESTRICTIONS and protocols during the new normal have altered the way we live and have made us forego some of our usual practices. For instance, going to government offices to process documents is quite inconvenient nowadays. Thus, the move towards digital transformation in government offices is highly emphasized.

Effective Jan. 1, 2021, the five percent final withholding Value-Added Tax (VAT) from sales to the government or any of its political subdivisions, instrumentalities, or agencies, including all government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) shall be treated as creditable withholding tax.