More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
The nation continues to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. This week COVID-19 tax cuts have expired.
The tax relief measures implemented to help businesses cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 have expired and rates returned to pre-pandemic levels in July, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has said.
The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, passed into law in March 2021, provided tax cuts for businesses as they struggled during the peak of the pandemic lockdowns in 2020.
Among the tax relief measures is the granting of a 1% percentage tax for non-value added tax (VAT) taxpayers until June 30, 2023.
In an advisory, the BIR said that starting July 1, 2023 those subject to percentage tax under Section 116 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended, will have to pay the original 3% rate of their gross quarterly sales or receipts.
Under Section 116 of the NIRC, “Any person whose sales or receipts are exempt under Section 109(CC) of this Code from the payment of value-added tax and who is not a VAT-registered person shall pay a tax equivalent to 3% of his gross quarterly sales or receipts.”
Non-VAT taxpayers are mandated to file the percentage tax return or BIR Form No. 2551Q and pay the corresponding tax dues within 25 days after the end of each taxable quarter.
Likewise, the CREATE law reduced the minimum corporate income tax (MCIT) to 1% until June 30, 2023.
“Moreover, from July 1, 2023 onwards, the minimum corporate income tax will return to its previous rate of 2%, calculated based on the gross income at the end of the taxable year,” the BIR said.
The MCIT rate applies to domestic corporations or resident foreign corporations when the MCIT exceeds the regular corporate income tax of the company, according to the taxman.
The MCIT is imposed beginning the fourth taxable year immediately following the year in which said corporation begins its business operations, the BIR said.
Meanwhile, the tax for non-profit and proprietary educational institutions and hospitals will also revert to its original 10% rate from 1%, beginning July.
“In addition, non-stock/non-profit schools and hospitals will once again be subject to a preferential tax rate of 10% on their taxable income,” the BIR said.
“However, as previously provided, if the gross income from ‘unrelated trade, business, or other activity’ exceeds 50% of the total gross income generated by the educational institution or hospital from all sources, the tax applicable to domestic corporations will be levied on their entire taxable income,” it said.
Business will now have to pay more taxes but how will inflation affect them? Are consumers consuming enough to cover those costs or will the passed on to us through more price increases? In fact spending is slowing.
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| https://business.inquirer.net/409428/revenge-spending-waning-food-beverage-sales-seen-slowing |
Food and beverage retail sales may slow down in the Philippines this year as “revenge spending” in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, but imports still have the potential to drive growth, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In a report, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) estimated a 6-percent growth in food and beverage retail sales in 2023, which it said was slower than last year’s growth rate of 8 percent.
“Based on research, consumers overall want new product offers that provide value, while more price-sensitive consumers purchase smaller stock keeping units (SKUs),” USDA-FAS said in its report released last week.
It noted that consumers no longer buy products in bulk, as revenge spending, or the phenomenon in which customers buy more goods and services than usual after a long period of isolation due to the pandemic, had weakened.
However, domestic demand is still expected to drive an increase in food and beverage sales to $35 billion from $33 billion in 2022 because of continued spending.
The Philippines remains the United States’ biggest market in Southeast Asia, as imports sustain the income of various establishments and continue to drive growth.
Warehouse clubs such as S&R and Landers offer the largest selection of imported brands, especially US products, with 70 percent of total store sales.
“Stores sell larger SKUs for restaurants and hotels, while large households buy products in packs of 12 or 24. Warehouse clubs frequently offer product tastings, discounts and incentives to members,” USDA-FAS said.
Sales in these establishments are expected to reach more than $1 billion in 2023, with half coming from food and beverage sales.
What is revenge spending in this context? Food and beverage are essentials not luxury items. This report says it may slow and yet not slow. Which is it?
The MMDA claims several projects were delayed by the pandemic and the election ban.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/06/23/unfinished-projects-hit-by-pandemic-election-bans-mmda |
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Wednesday said the delays in several of its flood control projects which were flagged by the Commission on Audit were due to the pandemic.
According to the COA in its latest annual report, the MMDA failed to complete 33 out of 47 flood control projects worth more than P825 million by December 31, 2022.
The timeline of the projects was supposed to be from 2018 to 2022.
MMDA chair Don Artes said the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, affected the projects.
"We have been in the pandemic for more than 2 years and our contractors have done almost nothing during those periods," said Artes.
"So there are findings that the contractors, suppliers, consultants extended the period to finish," he added.
Artes also noted that the procurement process for the projects is more tedious since part of the funding comes from the World Bank.
"All the agencies that implement foreign-assisted projects, particularly (a) World Bank projects, know that implementation is more difficult because it starts with the project conceptualization, terms of reference, shortlisting of bidding, bidding itself, as well as awarding , every step of the way, the approval (of the World Bank) is taken," he said.
Besides the pandemic, Artes said the election bans in 2019 and 2022 also contributed to the delay in the implementation of the projects.
What about projects begun in 2018? The pandemic restrictions lifted in 2021 which makes it appear this as flimsy excuse for the standard incompetence. Perhaps it is time to junk the election ban on public works projects so that they can be sure to be completed on time.
The nurse shortage continues. President Marcos says that is because the Philippines handled the pandemic so well that every nation wants Filipino nurses.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/07/11/2280174/marcos-nurse-exodus-were-victims-our-success |
The Philippines has become a “victim” of its own success as world leaders have asked for help to send more Filipino health workers abroad, resulting in a “shortage” of personnel, President Marcos admitted yesterday.
Marcos made the remark during a meeting with members of the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) in Malacañang, which tackled US investments in the Philippines’ health, digital infrastructure and energy programs.
“Unfortunately, in terms of health care workers, we have become victims of our own success in that the Filipinos did really well during the pandemic. And so every leader I meet says ‘can we have more Filipino med techs, doctors and nurses?’ So we’re having a shortage here,” Marcos said.
“So we are trying to find schemes so as to alleviate that problem. One of the things our Department of Health (DOH) has come up with is that we are coming to an arrangement with countries who will accept Filipino health care workers to at the same time train the equivalent number of health care workers that will stay in the Philippines,” he added.
Filipino nurses were being recruited before the pandemic. It's all about higher pay.
Daily average of COVID cases have dropped.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205335 |
The country’s daily average of new Covid-19 cases declined by 9 percent from July 3-9, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Monday.
In its latest case bulletin, the agency recorded 359 daily infections, a decline of 33 cases from the 392 recorded between June 26 to July 2.
A total of 2,510 new cases were recorded in the recent week.
The tally of severe and critical infections also decreased to 382 from the previous week’s 442.
No deaths were verified during the past week.
The decline has been steady and it seems the trend will continue.
Antique schools have resumed face-to-face graduation ceremonies.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205408 |
Full face-to-face graduation and moving-up ceremonies in public schools in Antique made the events memorable for learners and their parents, according to an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) from this province.
Dr. Evelyn Remo, Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division of Antique chief of school governance and operations, said in an interview Tuesday that graduation and moving up ceremonies for 47,130 graduates and completers from Kindergarten to Grade 12 enrolled in 535 public schools in the province were from July 10-14, 2023.
“The graduation and moving up ceremonies this year are done face-to-face with the parents and other family members already allowed to witness it,” she said.
She said that just like the pre-pandemic time, families could celebrate the educational milestone of their learners unlike in the past two school years when there were restrictions.
Schools have the discretion whether or not they will still require facemasks or to observe other Covid-19 health protocols depending on cases in their communities, she added.
“Graduation and moving up ceremonies in Antique have returned to normal now,” Remo said.
It's another sign that everything is back to normal.
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