E
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER I3, 20,I9
Echoes From
Johnny Dayang
Salceda to cabinet:
Settle your policy issues
A:3j;ff| fiiJ,ff'Tf",3'ili
drsagreements amono cabinet
officials on the Corporale Income
Tax and Incentive Rationalization
Act (CInM) during its recent de-
liberdtions at the House Wavs and
Means Committee which he ;hairs.
and criticized them in no uncertain
terms.
"1 concede you have honest dis-
agreements but please don,t use
Congress as playground for vour
policy battles, or worse, use us as
proxies or mercenaries for vour
skirmishes, because you are all alter
egos ofonly one president,,he told
the cabinet officials.
He urged the Cabinet ofncials to
settle their issues with the prAstuient
first and "avoid using Congress as
playground for policy batues that
generate confusions, send wrong
rcmpo
signalt delay the legislation process
and create uncertainties amono
investors."
CITIRA the second package ofthe
administrationS Comprehensive Tax
Reform Progmm, seeks to reduce
the mrporate income lax rdte from
30o/o to 20o/o for some one million
businesses in the country and m-
tionalize incentives for some 4,100
firms which pay only 5olo. The piesi-
dent has designated CmRA as the
national response to the US-China
Trade War He endorsed it in Janu-
ary 2018 and soughtlepea\edty its
congressional approval ln consecu_
tive SONAS.
The measure is projected to create
1.566 million jobs and incrementa v
expand the cDp by 3.6% annualtj.
Some cabinet officials, howevei,
lately proposrd to revise the transi:
tion period for the fiscal incentiv€,
which snagqed the bill,s Dassaoe.
"I appeal to our Gbinet m6m-
bers to settle their policy disagree-
menb first with the president and
within the Cabinet. I honesflv feel
Cabinet members are the ones
sowing confusion, sending wrong
signals and worst, delayino the
legislative pro@ss ana creitin-q un-
necessary doubts and uncerhinties
among investors,,, he lamented.
Salceda crafted CITIM in con-
sultation with the Finance Depart-
ment, After extensive studies .\[ith
the best data science and analyt-
|cs, and simulations,,, the House
passed it in the 17th Conoress but
failed to hurdle the Se;ate due
to time constraint. It has oone
through two previous House i/avs
and Means chairpersons- Dax Cua
of Quirino, and Estelita Suansino
of Nueva Ecija, and now, Salcedal
The House finally Dassed it last
Tuesday.
Under the CITIRA firmd expens_
es on research and development,
workers' traininq, and inftastruc_
tures leading totheir plants, will be
100o/o tax deductible. If thev hire
domestic worKorce and source lo-
cal inpuE, they will get 5oo/o more
deductions.
Fag e ?