THE House of Representatives will begin plenary debate on the proposed P5.768-trillion 2024 national budget on Tuesday, with a target of passing the budget bill by the end of September, the chamber’s leadership said.
“We will work morning and afternoon and on Thursday and Friday this week to meet our timeline. The national spending bill is the single most important piece of legislation Congress passes every year,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said in a statement.
Mr. Romualdez said the target date to pass the 2024 General Appropriations Bill on third and final reading is Sept. 27.
The House Committee on Appropriations ended committee debate on the budget bill last week, during which the various government agencies presented their budget requests for examination.
Separately, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), a policy think tank, expects global rules to curb tax avoidance by multinationals to start forcing changes to Philippine tax policy in a few years.
It said that the latest component of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) initiative covers the taxation of taxing digital services.
The Inclusive Framework for BEPS 2.0, “is defined by a two-pillar strategy… (that notes) the type and size of enterprises to be taxed, determine the allocable tax base by formula and set the tax rates to be applied to the bases.”
“Countries that adopt these rules are expected to repeal or amend some of their tax laws so as not to be inconsistent with BEPS 2.0. The Philippines needs to be a signatory to the OECD Inclusive Framework. It is urgent therefore that the country at least attempt to reckon or estimate the costs and benefits of being part of it,” the CPBRD said in its policy brief of the Finance department. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
