Employees prefer flexibility, work-life balance in 2025
Other Relevant Tax Updates:
- TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [JANUARY 7-13]
- SEC MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR ON THE DISCLOSURE OF RELATED FEES PAID TO EXTERNAL AUDITOR
- SEC LEGAL OPINION ON THE REGISTRATION OF SECURITIES
- FIRB ADVISORY ON THE AVAILMENT OF CREATE MORE INCENTIVES
I. TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [JANUARY 7-13]
- Employees prefer flexibility, work-life balance in 2025
- PDIC to hike bank deposit protection
- League of Cities backs scrutiny of tax shares
- UP offers 44 free online courses for 2025
- Golf club members withdraw case vs BCDA
- Why Did the Philippines Miss Its 2024 Tourism Arrivals Target?
- No more fake IDs: DSWD to pilot test unified ID system for PWDs
- ICTSI’s P2.35-B Iloilo port project registered with BoI
- NGCP compliant with national government franchise tax laws – BIR
- VBank to take center stage in grand launch
- Nickel Asia to exit Palawan processing plant
- Makati condo residents’ privacy at risk? NPC raises red flags over BIR’s data requests
- SC says electricity generation still subject to ERC regulation
II.SEC REQUIRES LISTED COMPANIES & OTHER PUBLIC INTEREST ENTITIES TO DISCLOSE FEES PAID TO EXTERNAL AUDITORS
SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 18, Series of 2024, signed on December 26, 2024, and posted on January 7, 2025, circularizes the guidelines on the disclosure of fee-related information of external auditors for publicly listed companies and other corporations imbued with public interest to enhance transparency and accountability in the reporting of their financial and operational results. The mandate is also aligned with the requirements under the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
Highlights include the effectivity, companies covered, exclusions, required format, and imposable penalties for non-compliance.
III. SEC LEGAL OPINION
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IF THE REGISTRATION OF THE SHARES TO BE OFFERED IS NOT NECESSARY IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST & FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE INVESTORS, THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION MAY BE EXEMPTED FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT UNDER THE SRC
Total Energies Global Services Philippines, Inc. (TGSPI) is seeking an opinion on the mandatory compliance requirements under Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8799 or the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), pertaining to stock options and shares of stocks issued by a publicly listed non-resident foreign corporation in France. As represented, employees of the different TotalEnergies companies around the world, including TGSPI employees (Filipinos), will be issued shares of stocks for free as well as stock options as an additional benefit to qualified TGSPI executives/employees to be issued by TotalEnergies SE (TTE), a publicly listed entity in France, as part of the Group’s centennial celebration. In reply, the Commission, applying Subsection 8.1 of the SRC, corporations intending to offer for sale or distribution securities within the Philippines are bound by the registration requirements imposed by the SRC, subject to the exceptions provided under Section 9 and Subsection 10.1 thereof, regardless of the citizenship or residency of the issuer. However, the Commission previously opined that if the offering or distribution of securities does not fall in any of the exempt transactions provided in Subsection 10.1 of the SRC, an issuer may instead request for an exemption from the Commission, pursuant to Subsection 10.2 of the SRC, by providing the required justifications that the requirements of registration under the SRC are not necessary for the public interest or for the protection of the investors. Hence, the Commission affirmed that while there is no registration requirement under Sections 8 and 12 of the SRC, there has to be compliance with the requirements and conditions for stock options. On the issue of absence of monetary investment of consideration for the issuance of the shares to the employees, the same negates the element of sale or distribution of securities to the public as the shares shall be issued for free in the form of a centennial celebration bonus. Given this, shares issued by TTE, intended to be distributed to the employees of TGSPl for free, are not subject to any compliance or registration requirements. [SEC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL OPINION NO. 24-43, DECEMBER 12, 2024]
IV. FIRB ISSUES AN INTERIM IRR ON THE AVAILMENT OF INCENTIVES & TRANSFER OF REGISTRATION UNDER CREATE MORE
Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) Advisory 007-2024, dated December 17, 2024, circularizes the Interim Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 12006, otherwise known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act. The Interim IRR is issued pending the final IRR to be issued by the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) within 90 days from the effectivity of the law (i.e., November 28, 2024), and given the set deadline for PRE-CREATE and CREATE Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs) to transfer and avail of a new set of incentives under the CREATE Act and CREATE MORE Act on or before December 31, 2024.
Highlights include the guidelines and policies on the application for registration of new and qualified expansion projects or activities, as well as transfer of registration and availment of incentives for investment capital exceeding Php 15 billion under CREATE ACT and CREATE MORE.
Employees prefer flexibility, work-life balance in 2025 [The Manila Times, January 13, 2025]
The study showed 67 percent of Filipino employees prioritize jobs that enable equal time spent at work and with family and friends, while work-from-home arrangements are key factors that influence job retention.
PDIC to hike bank deposit protection [Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 13, 2025]
Speaking to reporters during the 2025 annual reception for the banking community, PDIC president and CEO Roberto Tan said his agency had completed a study that recommended hiking the current maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) of P500,000 per depositor per bank.
https://business.inquirer.net/501034/pdic-to-hike-bank-deposit-protection
League of Cities backs scrutiny of tax shares [Inquirer Plus, January 11, 2025]
The Mayors for Good Governance (M4GG) suspects that local government units (LGUs) were being “shortchanged” by the national government of the 40 percent they were entitled to from the annual revenue collection, instead of the 31 percent that they have been receiving, according to their calculations.
https://plus.inquirer.net/news/league-of-cities-backs-scrutiny-of-tax-shares/
UP offers 44 free online courses for 2025 [The Philippine Star, January 10, 2025]
Those who complete the courses can earn e-certificates that can be added to resumes as 16-hour training, the UP Open University said in its announcement.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/01/10/2413264/offers-44-free-online-courses-2025
Golf club members withdraw case vs BCDA [The Manila Times, January 10, 2025]
“The withdrawal of the case is a positive step towards the smooth transition of the Camp John Hay Golf Course. We want to assure the public that new and former players will continue to enjoy premium golf course services and that the workforce will be taken care of by our new interim partners, Golfplus and DuckWorldPH,” said BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/01/10/sports/golf-club-members-withdraw-case-vs-bcda/2036211
Why Did the Philippines Miss Its 2024 Tourism Arrivals Target? [Esquire, January 9, 2025]
For comparison, Thailand welcomed 35 million visitors in 2024, up from the 28.15 million in 2023. Malaysia, meanwhile, recorded 22.5 million arrivals from January to November last year, up from the 20.14 million the country recorded during the same period in 2023. Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism reported that foreign tourist arrivals increased 20 percent to 12.66 million from January to November 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, while Vietnam recorded nearly 17.6 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, up 39.5 percent from 2023 and equivalent to 97.6 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
No more fake IDs: DSWD to pilot test unified ID system for PWDs [Manila Bulletin, January 9, 2025]
The creation of a unified ID system will be managed by the DSWD and the NCDA, in partnership with local government units (LGUs), through their respective Persons with Disability Affairs Offices (PDAO).
https://mb.com.ph/2025/01/09/dswd-to-pilot-test-unified-id-system-for-pw-ds
ICTSI’s P2.35-B Iloilo port project registered with BoI [BusinessWorld, January 9, 2025]
In a statement on Thursday, the BoI said that it awarded the certificate of registration to the ICTSI project, which aims to transform the old Iloilo Commercial Port Complex into a state-of-the-art facility.
NGCP compliant with national government franchise tax laws – BIR [The Philippine Star, January 8, 2025]
The ERC chief noted that since 2016 to 2022, NGCP paid a total of P21 billion in franchise tax, adding that from 2018, the power company paid between P1.3 billion to P1.5 billion in franchise tax every year.
VBank to take center stage in grand launch [Inquirer.Net, January 8, 2025]
Vigan Banco Rural Incorporada (VBRI), a rural bank supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), underwent a digital transformation and secured the necessary licenses from the BSP to offer mobile banking and other electronic banking services through Vbank.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2022558/vbank-to-take-center-stage-in-grand-launch
Nickel Asia to exit Palawan processing plant [Inquirer Plus, January 8, 2025]
In a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday, NAC said it was in discussions with Japanese partner Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. for the sale of its 15.625 percent stake in CBNC, which operates a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) mineral processing plant in Bataraza, Palawan.
https://plus.inquirer.net/business/nickel-asia-to-exit-palawan-processing-plant/
Makati condo residents’ privacy at risk? NPC raises red flags over BIR’s data requests [Bilyonaryo, January 7, 2025]
The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has voiced concerns over the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) verbal request to Oriental Place for sensitive information, including a list of residential units in the Makati condominium, names and contact details of unit owners leasing their properties, and notarized lease contracts.
MVP group leads Camp John Hay transition [The Philippine Star, January 7, 2025]
The Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Landco Pacific Corp. will handle the interim management of Camp John Hay legacy hotels to assist the government in the property’s transition to a new private partner.
https://qa.philstar.com/nation/2025/01/07/2412342/mvp-group-leads-camp-john-hay-transition
SC says electricity generation still subject to ERC regulation [ABS-CBN News, January 7, 2025]
The court noted that power generation and supply companies are not public utilities because they offer their services to limited customers and do not deal directly with the general public.
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