President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act into law on Monday.
The new law seeks to create more job opportunities for Filipinos and foster economic growth by attracting more investments in the country.
“The signing of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy—a bit of a mouthful, so we’ll just refer to it as the CREATE MORE Act— is a resounding testament of our commitment to make the Philippines the destination of choice for investments,” Marcos said in his speech.
CREATE MORE Act amends the 1997 National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) to enhance the country’s fiscal incentives system.
Under this law, the tax incentives policy for businesses will be improved. Specifically, the corporate income tax rate for registered business enterprises will be reduced from 25% to 20%.
The deduction for electricity expenses will also be doubled, reducing costs for the manufacturing sector.
“We cannot emphasize enough the important role of the business sector in shaping this law. Your feedback has been essential in our efforts to craft policies that make our country truly competitive on the global stage,” Marcos said.
“As we open new doors of opportunity, we drive businesses to reinvest their capital, build upon the workforce, and initiate a ripple effect that will be felt across generations,” he added.
The CREATE MORE Act extends the duration of tax incentive availment from 17 to 27 years, aiming to draw in strategic and high-quality investments.
RA 12066 enacts reforms aimed at improving the investment climate, such as simplifying incentives-related processes to alleviate investor concerns. It also simplifies local taxation by imposing a single local tax on RBEs, replacing all other local taxes, fees, and charges.
Furthermore, it provides tax or duty exemptions on donations of capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts, or accessories to the government, GOCCs, TESDA, state universities, the Department of Education, and CHED-accredited schools.
