THE congressional bicameral committee is set to pass the proposed Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (Timta) this week, a leader of the House of Representatives said on Sunday.
Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Liberal Party Rep. Romero S. Quimbo of Marikina said members of the bicameral committee are now finalizing the report on the Timta to be presented in the both chambers for final approval also this week.
Quimbo added that the proposed Timta will be transmitted to President Aquino for signature before the year ends.
“There’s a big possibility [that we can approve the measure at the bicameral committee this week]. Also, hopefully before this week ends [we can adopt the bicameral report in the plenary],” he said.
Quimbo added that the proposed Timta, which was included to one of the priority bills of the 16th Congress, seeks to promote transparency and accountability in the grant and administration of tax incentives to business entities, and private individuals and corporations.
The consolidated bill of the House of Representatives on Timta, House Bill 5831, principally authored by Liberal Party Rep. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo of Camarines Sur, was merged with the Senate version authored by Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara and Sen. Ralph G. Recto during the bicameral conference.
On his part, Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, has said the two chambers have removed a provision in the proposed Timta that withdraws the perks granted to investors who would fail to comply with the reportorial requirement at first instance.
Under the bill, all heads of the investment-promotion agencies must submit to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) investment-related data, which will include the list of registered business entities, investment projects, investment cost, actual employment and export earnings.
For tax-incentives data, the Department of Finance will furnish the Neda a copy of the reports submitted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs. Also, the bill provides that the data and information will be reflected by the Department of Budget and Management in the annual Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, particularly in a section to be called the Tax Incentives Information.
Moreover, Angara said the proposed transparency measure sought to provide a solution for the lack of empirical data on fiscal incentives, thus, enabling the government to “evaluate and maximize revenue spent toward boosting the country’s economic growth.”