Amicus Curiae

CREATE Act was enacted on 3 February 2021. Based on the data from Department of Finance, a total of 910 projects with total investments of Php 1.02 trillion varying across priority sectors listed in the Strategic Investment Priority Plan have been approved under the CREATE Act as of 2023.

Imagine reclining on your couch, basking in the glow of a recently sold property that brought in substantial income – only to be blindsided by an unexpected tax levy for failure to pay taxes on income you were unaware required reporting.

On 11 April 2024, the Monetary Board approved further amendments to the Manual of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions (the “FX Manual”) in line with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (“BSP”) commitment to further facilitate access to foreign exchange (“FX”) resources of authorized agent banks or their subsidiary/affiliate FX corporations (AABs/AAB forex corps) for legitimate transactions and to streamline documentary requirements, procedures, and reporting.

The significant and indispensable role of the private sector in the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and basic services to the public has long been recognized. Pursuant to its Build-Better-More Program, the Philippine government aims to focus on establishing infrastructure projects which are critical to the country’s development.

As digital technologies evolve and reshape the global economy, they pose increasingly complex taxation challenges. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) seeks to address these tax challenges through the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 2.0 project, the Two-Pillar Approach: Pillar One (re-allocation of taxing rights) and Pillar Two (global minimum taxation).

From 1 January to 1 December 2023, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) seized over P24.36 billion pesos worth of smuggled counterfeit foods, up from P20 billion in the previous year.

On 31 January 2024, the Bureau of Immigration (“BI”) issued Immigration Memorandum Circular No. 2024-002 (“Memorandum Circular”) which establishes a Visa Processing Center (VPC) and provides for its procedure for visa application processing.

Business organizations, like any other ventures, are not immune to the complexities of economic downturns that may be brought about by volatile market conditions, shifting consumer preferences, or unforeseen global events.

The Philippine e-commerce market is experiencing continuous growth. E-commerce sales are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of nine percent (9%). Against this backdrop, Republic Act No. 11967, or the Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (“ITA”) was signed into law last December 5, 2023.

Congress has enacted another piece of legislation meant to boost business in the country. It promotes fairness and modernization of tax administration. Will the Ease of Paying Taxes Act truly ease the burden of paying taxes?