Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairperson Pia S. Cayetano has assured that the committee report for the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA) will be fair to all sectors, including foreign investors and local business owners.

The Senator made this announcement during an interview with media members after the panel’s hearing on February 5.

“Basically, the flow will be the same, except that there are clearer parameters. There are clearer numbers, so that the industries can make their computations. They can know what their futures would be like, which is what I have gathered in the many talks I have with them,” Cayetano stressed, referring to the CITIRA committee report.

“There will be sunset provisions on a particular date, and the new dates are very clearly identified, so they know what they deal with. That is what I want. A vibrant economy that is predictable for our investors,” she added.

Cayetano said she plans to deliver her sponsorship speech on the CITIRA bill next week.

Meanwhile, the panel conducted its first public hearing on proposals to make passive income and financial intermediary taxes simpler, fairer, more efficient, and more competitive regionally under Package 4 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), also known as Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA).

The hearing invited DOF Undersecretary Dr. Karl Kendrick T. Chua, who explained the ten reasons why the reform for the passive income and financial intermediary tax system is necessary. For each reason, he elaborated on the corresponding problems and the DOF’s proposed solutions.

In particular, individual citizens stand to benefit from the tax reform, according to Undersecretary Chua. Those individuals who put their savings (their passive income) in the bank will be taxed less, based on the proposed tax reform.

The Ways and Means Committee is set to continue discussions on the tax measures in the following weeks./STACY ANG