MANILA — Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Charito Plaza wants to talk directly to President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss her agency’s concerns about the second package of the tax reform program.
On the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines event Wednesday evening, Plaza said she now wants to go directly to the Chief Executive after losing hope that the Department of Finance (DOF) will consider the proposals of PEZA.
Plaza also expressed dissatisfaction with House of Representatives’ version of the measure called Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities or Trabaho Bill.
“I have given up,” Plaza said when asked if her agency is still engaging with the DOF. “That’s why we have to speak up. Our industries have given up.”
“What came in Trabaho bill is almost the same in original TRAIN 2 (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Package 2). They did not consider our sentiments, proposals, and compromises in the Trabaho bill. Our impression is that they hear but they never listened. They still stick on what they believe must be implemented,” she said.
Plaza stressed that the second package of the tax reform program has given rise to uncertainties in the investor community.
Investment pledges in PEZA from January to September 2018 dropped 56 percent from last year, said Plaza.
But she clarified that no company has pulled out their investments because of the uncertainties created by the proposed TRAIN 2 yet.
“They (companies) already manifested talking to principals, head branches, to start looking at [elsewhere] to transfer,” Plaza said.
“The impression in policies is that it is unstable. The government does not respect contracts entered with investors,” she added. (Kris Crismundo/PNA)
