Senators back passage of CREATE bill

Several senators on Thursday vowed “full support” for the passage of Senate Bill 1357 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE).

In a statement, the lawmakers said CREATE will address “head-on” businesses’ need for government support in rebuilding and retaining jobs for employees by “offering businesses an unprecedented and outright 5 percent tax cut.”

“This reduced CIT rate will allow businesses to recoup the unanticipated losses they incurred during the various stages of community quarantine across the nation,” they said.

The statement also said that CREATE would be vital to micro, small, and medium enterprises, which constitute 99 percent of corporate taxpayers in the country, and provide jobs for Filipinos.

“We endeavored to pass CREATE with a mind for urgency. We regret, however, that we were unable to tackle this before the sine die adjournment on June 5, given the lack of material time, along with the pressing need to deliberate a plethora of other equally important national measures addressing the pandemic,” they said.

“You also have our word that we will take up the bill upon resumption of the session in July and work to pass it by the month of August,” senators added.

The statement was signed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senators Pia Cayetano, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Ronald Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Manny Pacquiao, Grace Poe, Ramon Revilla Jr., Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, and Cynthia Villar.

CREATE is a repackaged version of the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA), which seeks to cut corporate taxes to 25 percent across the board starting July this year. 

The bill has received support from several business groups and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.  

Central Bank chief Benjamin Diokno likewise expressed optimism that Congress will pass CREATE, possibly through a special session. 

However, Ateneo dean and economist Ronald Mendoza cautioned lawmakers against rushing the passage of CREATE amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that the bill will do more harm than good. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BM, GMA News