FIRB approves incentives for P119Bn worth of projects
The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) recently approved the tax incentives of five big-ticket projects in the country that are worth a combined P119.5 billion (US$2.3 billion).
According to FIRB Secretariat Head Juvy Danofrata, the Board of Investments (BOI) initially submitted nine projects for approval.
With five of them approved and one rejected, only three more projects are left to be decided by the review board.
In terms of locations, only the proposed Makati City Subway was approved in Metro Manila while the rest are located in Iloilo, Davao, Batangas and Pampanga.
Danofrata also disclosed that they have been making efforts in educating both investment promotion agencies (IPAs) and registered businesses in the country’s incentives system.
The FIRB official said that they are holding town hall meetings, consultations, and publishing e-newsletters to teach the business community on the provisions of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
The CREATE Act delegates the granting of tax incentives to registered business with investment capital of P1 billion (US$19.2 million) and below to IPAs instead of the FIRB.
The FIRB had also launched an online application site known as the the Fiscal Incentives Registration and Monitoring System (FIRMS).
Danofrata said that they are confident that these efforts could lead to “attracting large amounts of investments from foreign investors, which in turn, will generate more employment opportunities and promote economic stability.”
