645 firms still get tax perks after 15 years – DOF

The Department of Finance (DOF) said that tax incentives given to multinational firms in the country have become redundant and unnecessary. The DOF made the pronouncement after it revealed that a total of 645 enterprises continue to receive tax incentives even after 15 years of operations. The DOF said 43% of these firms are still worthy of being granted incentives, while the remaining 57% are receiving incentives that are already unnecessary or redundant. The Philippine government gives tax incentives for a certain number of years to attract investors, but the DOF said the government continues to support companies that have since become inherently profitable. In 2015 alone, the government gave away P86bn worth of income tax incentives to firms that paid out a total of P83bn in combined dividends. The issue of tax incentives is one of the major concerns that the outsourcing industry has raised, as the government pushes forward on the second wave of its tax reform program.