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Finally, after much debate and months of delay, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 10708, otherwise known as the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA), have been finalized and jointly issued by the Department of Finance (DoF) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through Joint Administrative Order No. 1-2016. TIMTA aims to monitor and evaluate the fiscal incentives granted by investment promotion agencies (IPAs), such as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Board of Investments (BoI) and others.

We have come to a time when we are no longer afraid of change. We welcome change, believing that such will be a catalyst for improvement. We are all very excited by blow-by-blow developments. We have seen it slowly happening within the ranks of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) vis-à-vis the proposed amendments of the Tax Code.

You’ve spent countless years—and money—investing profits back into the business in an effort to stay ahead of the competition. Or maybe the simple fact is, people want what you have and organizations have started knocking at your door. What are your options?

The concept of Federalism has recently been getting special attention in Philippine political circles. Judging by the constant talk about it, it appears our elected officials are determined to push efforts to adopt a form of Federalism through Constitutional amendment as the new basis of the political and economic union of the Filipino people.

There is a clamor to amend the rules in order to make tax rates more equitable. We have high hopes that the administration will see through the amendments to the Tax Code. It is important to note, however, that while the Tax Code amendments are hammered out, taxpayers have another opportunity to lower their annual income tax due, through the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Act of 2008 (R.A.9505).

Fundraising is never easy, even for serial entrepreneurs let alone budding first-timers who may be putting their life’s savings or sustained sources of income at stake. Given the stage we are at in the fintech revolution (or evolution), not many have the luxury of claiming to have done it before. But there comes a time in most evolutionary cycles when there is a now-or-never moment and the plunge is worth taking. The focus often tends to be on preparing swanky business plans and presentations with little attention given to fundraising itself – the amount, investors, staging, and so on.

As a father of two iGens (also known as Gen Z, those born after 1994) and at the same time being exposed to the corporate world over the past 12 years, I noticed certain parenting principles that can be applied by leaders in their respective organizations, especially those dealing with millennials and, soon-to-be in the workforce, the iGens. These principles, which I abide by as a parent, stemmed from my desire to see my kids become the best version of them. If this is the same path we want our employees to follow, it could be worthwhile to consider the following principles:

With appointment of the new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner, Atty. Cesar R. Dulay, everyone is expecting significant changes to happen in the BIR. Atty. Dulay is joining an organization cited by President Duterte as one of the most corrupt government agencies. Certainly, changing such an organization will be one gargantuan task. Stakeholders like the local and foreign business organizations, tax practitioners, individual taxpayers, and foreign investors are eagerly observing the changes that are being introduced. It is worthwhile to examine the BIR issuances released by the new Commissioner for the first two weeks after he assumed his post last July 1. These issuances give the stakeholders and observers a clear insight of the changes what we will expect and the priorities of this new administration