Philippines: Investors jittery over TRAIN 2: PEZA

• The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said the government’s second tax reform package is causing jitters to investors as it warned of the possibility of existing locators pulling out if the current incentives are scrapped.
• PEZA director general Charito Plaza said that while the agency is thankful that its incentives were retained under TRAIN 1, the second tax reform package “is still sending worries to investors.”
• According to the PEZA chief, foreign investors may pull out of the country should the current set of incentives they are enjoying in economic zones be removed by the government.
• With PEZA’s immense contribution to the Philippine economy, Plaza said it is wrong to say that the government is losing revenues and foregoing so many taxes because the agency is giving so much incentives.
• Since its beginning in 1995 to 2017, PEZA has attracted investments worth PHP3.614tr and generated 1.42 million direct employment and seven million more indirect employment.
• “Another contribution is the upliftment of the once 5th, 4th class municipalities which are now cities because of ecozones and industries which create multiplier effect once we give their people jobs and created more businesses. There is also social progress brought by the ecozones and industries, with insurgency being gone, crime index went down, and poverty incidence went down,” Plaza said.

External Link : https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/03/06/1793827/investors-jittery-over-train-2-peza