Philippines sets May 1 deadline for new bank checks

Other Relevant Tax Updates:

  • TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [MARCH 7-13]
  • BIR CLARIFIES THE MANNER OF COMPUTING THE MINIMUM CORPORATE INCOME TAX (MCIT) FOR TAXABLE YEAR 2023
  • SEC LEGAL OPINION DIGEST ON PERPETUAL EXISTENCE OF CORPORATION

I. TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [MARCH 7-13]

1. Gov’t not proposing any new taxes until next year: Recto

2. Philippines sets May 1 deadline for new bank checks

3. Marcos appoints new senior Finance officials

4. BCDA clinches 4 deals with Aussie firms

5. SM Group’s gaming arm exiting PSE

6. Senate OKs Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act

7. Probe sought after Cebu City hotel balcony collapses, damages SUV

8. US embrace of remote working empties offices, weighs on banks

9. SC denies NOW Telecom’s bid to be new major PH telco player

10. ISCA, Picpa sign MoU to train PH chartered accountants

11. SC orders PLDT to regularize employees engaged in installation, repair and maintenance of service lines

12. Gwen wants to increase fines for violators of sand and gravel code

13. PLDT close to settling US lawsuit

14. NTC blocking unlicensed investment apps

15. DENR, mining firm join hands to develop access to Agusan Marsh

16. BSP: Only two of six PH digital banks are profitable

17. Employers must expand compensation, benefits to attract ‘top talents’ — report

18. Philippine Cancer Center breaks ground in Quezon City

19. Tahanang Pinasara! TAPE’s blocktime deal cut over reported P57-M debt to GMA Network

II. BIR CLARIFIES THE MANNER OF COMPUTING THE MINIMUM CORPORATE INCOME TAX (MCIT) FOR TAXABLE YEAR 2023

Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 36-2024 issued on March 11, 2024, clarifies the manner of computing the Minimum Corporate Income Tax (MCIT) for taxable year 2023. From the prescribed 1% MCIT under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, the rate shall revert back to 2% based on the gross income of the corporation effective July 1, 2023.

In computing the MCIT for 2023, the following shall be followed:

  1. Gross income shall be divided by 12 months to get the monthly average income.
  2. Apply the rate of 1% for the period January 1 to June 30, 2023.
  3. Apply the rate of 2% for the period July 1 to December 31, 2023.

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III. SEC LEGAL OPINION DIGEST ON PERPETUAL EXISTENCE OF CORPORATION

A Co. is seeking an opinion on whether its corporate term for corporations incorporated under the Old Corporation Law is already automatically extended to perpetuity upon the passage of the Revised Corporation Code (RCC), and whether an amendment of the Articles of Incorporation (AOI) is optional. In reply, the Commission referred to Section 2 of SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 22, Series of 2020, which provides that the corporate term of a corporation with a Certificate of Incorporation issued prior to the effectivity of the RCC and which continues to exist, shall be deemed perpetual upon the effectivity of the RCC, without any action on the part of the corporation. The corporation, subject to the payment of filing fees, may amend Article Four (4) to reflect its perpetual corporate term in its Articles of Incorporation (AOI), by a vote of the majority of its Board of Directors or Trustees and by a vote of its stockholders representing a majority of its outstanding capital stock including the non-voting shares, or a majority of the members, in case of a non-stock corporation. Consequently, the corporate term is deemed perpetual by virtue of the passage of RCC even if no amendment of the AOI is made. However, it may opt to amend its AOI to reflect its perpetual corporate term in accordance with Section 2 of MC No. 22, Series of 2020.  [SEC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL LEGAL OPINION NO. 23-17, DECEMBER 13, 2023]

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Gov’t not proposing any new taxes until next year: Recto [ABS-CBN News, March 13, 2024]

Recto told the CA finance committee that the government is pursuing only tax measures that “are already in the advance stages in Congress” and made the assurance that there will be no new tax measures until at least next year.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/3/13/no-new-taxes-until-next-year-recto-1328

 

Philippines sets May 1 deadline for new bank checks [ABS-CBN News, March 12, 2024]

Under the new Philippine standard, all checks will have boxes indicating the new standard for dates: month, date and year, similar to the standard used for Philippine passports.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/3/12/philippines-sets-may-1-deadline-for-new-bank-checks-1130

 

Marcos appoints new senior Finance officials [The Manila Times, March 12, 2024]

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who took over in January from Benjamin Diokno, thanked the President “for appointing a new group of distinguished professionals in the DoF with whom I have worked in the past.”

https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/03/12/business/top-business/marcos-appoints-new-senior-finance-officials/1936417

 

BCDA clinches 4 deals with Aussie firms [Inquirer Mobile, March 12, 2024]

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has secured four business deals with Australian firms during one of the side events as part of President Marcos’ recent trip to Australia.

https://inqm.news/qpprr

 

SM Group’s gaming arm exiting PSE [Inquirer Mobile, March 12, 2024]

The SM Group is restructuring its publicly listed gaming assets with the privatization of Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC), which has interests in the City of Dreams Manila integrated casino and hotel along Manila Bay.

https://inqm.news/qpprn

 

Senate OKs Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act [Inquirer.Net, March 11, 2024]

“Waiving the payment of interests, penalties, and surcharges on unpaid or delinquent real property taxes through the amnesty component of RPVARA would encourage tax compliance later on and significantly enhance the government’s revenue-collection efforts,” said Gatchalian in his manifestation.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1917073/fwd-third-reading-approval-of-real-property-valuation-and-assessment-reform-act

 

Probe sought after Cebu City hotel balcony collapses, damages SUV [Manila Bulletin, March 11, 2024]

Gealon’s move stemmed from an incident that happened in Barangay Kamputhaw where a portion of the balcony of Richmond Hotel collapsed.

https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/11/probe-sought-after-cebu-city-hotel-balcony-collapses-damages-suv

 

US embrace of remote working empties offices, weighs on banks [Inquirer.Net, March 10, 2024]

The popularity of remote work in the United States has emptied office buildings, a cause for worry as their value falls and owners risk losses on property loans — in turn putting pressure on smaller banks.

https://business.inquirer.net/449445/us-embrace-of-remote-working-empties-offices-weighs-on-banks

 

SC denies NOW Telecom’s bid to be new major PH telco player [GMA News Online, March 10, 2024]

The SC said that the selection process for a new major player is essentially a bidding and awarding of a national government project, thus the circular cannot be subject to injunctive relief by the lower courts.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/900068/sc-denies-now-telecom-s-bid-to-be-new-major-ph-telco-player/story/

 

ISCA, Picpa sign MoU to train PH chartered accountants [The Manila Times, March 10, 2024]

THE Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Picpa) to foster international collaboration and support the accountancy profession and businesses in Singapore and the Philippines.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/03/10/public-square/isca-picpa-sign-mou-to-train-ph-chartered-accountants/1936051

 

SC orders PLDT to regularize employees engaged in installation, repair and maintenance of service lines [GMA News Online, March 10, 2024]

The SC affirmed the CA decision, clarifying that labor contracting is not per se illegal, citing Article 106 of the Labor Code which permits legitimate contracting. DOLE implements this through Department Order (DO) 18-A and  DO 174-2017.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/899966/sc-orders-pldt-to-regularize-employees-engaged-in-installation-repair-and-maintenance-of-service-lines/story/

 

Gwen wants to increase fines for violators of sand and gravel code [Cebu Daily News, March 9, 2024]

Garcia proposed changes in the Provincial Revenue Code which aims at imposing stricter penalties and increasing the fine of up to one million pesos for violators.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/561031/gwen-wants-to-increase-fines-for-violators-of-sand-and-gravel-code

 

PLDT close to settling US lawsuit [The Philippine Star, March 9, 2024]

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PLDT said the court granted the preliminary approval of the $3 million settlement, or around P165 million, it proposed on Feb. 16.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2024/03/09/2339096/pldt-close-settling-us-lawsuit

 

NTC blocking unlicensed investment apps [The Philippine Star, March 9, 2024]

According to SEC, the operator of MiTrade was not registered as a corporation in the Philippines and operated without the necessary license to sell or offer any form of securities, to engage in the business of buying or selling securities, to operate as a broker or dealer or to create or operate an exchange in the country.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/03/09/2339241/ntc-blocking-unlicensed-investment-apps

 

DENR, mining firm join hands to develop access to Agusan Marsh [Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 9, 2024]

On Wednesday, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Philsaga Mining Corp. (PMC) to revitalize the riverbank of Dagon Creek in Barangay Mambalili here, streamlining travel for tourists to the sanctuary to just 20 minutes by boat, compared to the longer route through Agusan River, which currently takes over an hour.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1916308/denr-mining-firm-join-hands-to-develop-access-to-agusan-marsh

 

BSP: Only two of six PH digital banks are profitable [Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 8, 2024]

Only two of the six digital banks in the country are profitable, with losses likely to persist in the medium term as the nascent industry continues to find the right business model for their target market with a largely untested credit profile.

https://business.inquirer.net/449038/bsp-only-2-of-6-ph-digital-banks-are-profitable

 

Employers must expand compensation, benefits to attract ‘top talents’ — report [The Philippine Star, March 8, 2024]

A five-page report by online job search platform Jobstreet by SEEK released Friday said that employers must calibrate compensations to attract individuals with the best available skills in 2024 as salary increments last year were conducted by companies to retain their employees.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2024/03/08/2339090/employers-must-expand-compensation-benefits-attract-top-talents-report

 

Philippine Cancer Center breaks ground in Quezon City [GMA News Online, March 8, 2024]

The PCC, which will be built on a 5,000-square meter lot inside the Blood Bank Complex in Quezon City, will serve as a comprehensive center for cancer diagnosis, treatment, research, and patient support.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/899926/philippine-cancer-center-breaks-ground-in-quezon-city/story/

 

Tahanang Pinasara! TAPE’s blocktime deal cut over reported P57-M debt to GMA Network [Biyonaryo, March 7, 2024]

The Jalosjos family’s TAPE Inc. had to pull the plug on the noontime show “Tahanang Pinakamasaya” because it reportedly owed P57 million in blocktime fees to GMA Network.

https://bilyonaryo.com/2024/03/07/tahanang-pinasara-tapes-blocktime-deal-cut-over-reported-p57-m-debt-to-gma-network/business/