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A basic fact of life is that “nothing lasts forever”. Things can change, whether for better or for worse. It may be said that several entities enjoying tax incentives are left wondering about the many changes and developments in Philippine tax laws. Among the questions of taxpayers is –"Can we still enjoy what we are enjoying now?”

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 21-2022 to provide guidance on the work-around procedures in claiming input VAT on purchased or imported capital goods starting January 1, 2022.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 20-2022 to guide taxpayers in filing their Requests for Confirmation (RFC), Tax Treaty Applications (TTRA) and Tax Sparing Applications (TSA).

Society has long condoned acts that put up a gender divide. Men work, women stay at home to focus on child-rearing. Even in sexual harassment cases, women are often blamed for their provocative outfits. But not all hope is lost. There are a number of legislations advocating for the preservation of women’s rights and for gender equality. Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women recognizes the discrimination and the realities faced by women, and puts in place measures to safeguard their rights, all in line with the constitutional mandate that the State shall recognize women’s role in nation-building and that the government has the concurrent responsibility to afford them protection.

One of the most common inquiries we receive from foreign investors pertains to questions involving setting up of subsidiaries in the Philippines and their concerns with minimum capital requirements relevant to the nature of their business or industry. The restrictions on foreign ownership to some industries surely affect the flow of foreign investments in the country, the Philippines being notably one of the strictest within Asia-Pacific in terms of its foreign investment policies. For some time now, the law easing these restrictions for this matter has been long anticipated to stimulate investments from foreign enterprises.

Undoubtedly, the pandemic has resulted in monumental changes to global working practices in the short span of two years. In that time, it has also introduced the concept of an employee’s market for recruitment and a fierce war for talent as employees – women especially – found more opportunities amidst the new and more flexible working conditions. Grant Thornton welcomes the seeming continuation of this trend as our research saw more than 70% of businesses are now working to create a more inclusive environment to attract and retain female talent.

Diversity in the boardroom is a recognized imperative for an effective leadership. Successful businesses recognize that leaders must be composed of dynamic and diverse individuals to prevent groupthink and stimulate healthy exchange of ideas. The boardroom must be constantly permeated with different views and backgrounds if it expects to successfully adapt the business in this era of ever shifting tides and radical changes.

It has been almost a year since Republic Act No. 11534, otherwise known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act was signed into law. It took effect on April 11 last year. Its central focus is to lower corporate income tax rates for domestic and foreign corporations to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy. However, this is not the case for Regional Operating Headquarters (ROHQs), which in the past enjoyed a preferential income tax rate of 10%. With the passage of the CREATE Law, effective January 1, 2022, ROHQs shall now be taxed at 25% Regular Corporate Income Tax (RCIT) or 1% (until June 30, 2023)/ 2% Minimum Corporate Income Tax (MCIT), whichever is higher.