MANILA – The Department of Finance (DOF) plans to review current revenue regulations covering the common carriers tax to ensure a level playing field for international air and sea cargo vessels.
“We are seriously reviewing this and again the goal is to make it fair to everyone and to make it a level playing field for all participating in the business,” Finance secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.
Under current laws, international carriers are exempted from paying the 3-percent common carriers tax on passengers, but not on cargo.
“We are going to review the [Bureau of Internal Revenue] issuances,” Dominguez said in a statement.
Denmark Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs Brian Mikkelsen has raised concerns about the uneven playing field in the country.
“This is the one topic that gets us worried. We are very interested to know more about this,” he said.
“Looking at the shipping area, this is a very global business, therefore it is advisable to have a level playing field,” Mikkelsen noted.
The Danish official was recently in Manila. He headed a business delegation representing companies in Denmark that are supposedly interested in investing in the Philippines. (GMA News)
