THE HOUSE of Representatives approved three more tax reforms on separate levels as lawmakers resumed their regular session on Monday.
Approved on third reading were bills increasing the government’s revenue share from miners and providing a standardized framework for valuation and assessment of real properties.
At the same time, the House Ways and Means committee approved a revised proposal for general tax amnesty.
MINING TAX CHANGES
The chamber approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 8400, “An Act Establishing the Fiscal Regime for the Mining Industry”, that changes the royalty imposed on large-scale mining in mineral reserves to a margin-based three percent from the current five percent on gross output. The measure will also levies a 1-5% margin-based royalty on all large-scale miners outside mineral reserves. Small-scale miners will be levied a royalty equivalent to one-tenth of one percent of gross output, regardless whether it is operating in or outside mineral reserves.
Further, the measure will also introduce a 1-10% margin-based windfall profits tax on income before corporate income tax and a provision which disallows interest expense deduction when a mining contractor records a 3:1 debt-to-equity ratio.
REAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENT
HB 8453, or the proposed “Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act”, reorganizes the Bureau of Local Government Finance which will develop and maintain a uniform valuation standard. This will guide all local government appraisers and assessors in preparing their schedules of market value that, in turn, are the basis of real property taxes.
TAX AMNESTY
Also on Monday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved an amended unnumbered substitute bill that grants a tax amnesty on all unpaid taxes up to 2017.
The measure imposes a two percent general tax amnesty rate based on total assets, instead of the 4-5% rate based on incremental assets which the committee had previously approved.
“For simplicity and ease of administration it will be more practical to use total assets as base for computing the general tax amnesty payments, than incremental assets,” National Tax Research Center Chief Tax Specialist Donaldo M. Boo explained to lawmakers of the committee. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

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