Philippines fares poorly in Asia corporate tax index

Philippines fares poorly in Asia corporate tax index


THE COUNTRY has ranked at the bottom half of a regional index that assesses the competitiveness of corporate tax environments.
The Philippines placed 14th of 25 countries in the 2012 Asia Tax Index, published last Monday by Eminvex, a market intelligence organization specializing on emerging markets.
Using data from the World Bank, public policy group Heritage Foundation and audit firm KMPG, the Asia Tax Index evaluated three factors, namely: corporate tax rate, number of payments necessary to comply with tax regulations and number of hours spent to do so.
TOP SYSTEMS
Maldives, a country with no corporate taxes, ranked first on the list.
It was followed by Hong Kong and then Singapore.
Hong Kong requires only three tax payments, with 80 hours necessary to complete these, while Singapore mandates five tax payments, taking about 84 hours.
Both countries levy a corporate tax of about 17%.
At the bottom of the rankings were Japan at 23rd, pulled down by its corporate tax rate of 38%, and Pakistan at 24th.
“Vietnam ends up last on the index thanks to having the highest number of hours (a whopping 941 or 39 days) [to complete tax payments],” the report read.
The Asia Tax Index was a mixed bag, with countries such as Timor-Leste and Afghanistan placing in the top 10, while economic giants such as China and India ranking 19th and 20th, respectively.
SHIFT UNDER WAY
No explanation was able on the Philippines’ ranking.
The Philippines charges a corporate income tax of 30%, but also offers income tax holidays, reduced rates and rebates to qualified firms.
The current administration, though, aims to reduce such perks in order to raise more recurring revenues to help finance development priorities. -- D. C. J. Jiao