Taiwanese investors urge government to relax tax policies

Taiwanese investors are urging Finance Secretary Alberto Romulo to study the possibility of relaxing tax policies imposed on foreign investors.

The Taiwanese investors, accompanied by top officials of the Chinese Filipino Business Club, Inc., recently paid a courtesy call on Romulo to discuss their major concerns about investing in the country.

According to Dante Y. Go of the CFBCI, Taiwanese investors have shown their commitment to the country by not pulling out from Subic during the "hard times" under the short-lived Estrada administration."

However, Go said, Taiwanese investors have to be wooed anew to increase their investments in the country. Go pointed out that the Taiwanese have been going to other countries such as Thailand because of better investment opportunities available there.

According to him , the Philippines is only able to get a miniscule 10 percent of what Taiwanese capitalist invest elsewhere in the region.

According to Go, during their call on Romulo, Taiwanese investors had complained about the tax policies of the Philippine government on foreign investors.

He said foreign investors are plagued by double taxation by both their government and the Philippine government.

While Go did not specify what taxes investors are complaining about, he said that such a situation does not exist in other countries with which Taiwan has already entered into tax treaties to address double taxation. Most likely, investors are affected by the tax on income.

Another issue that Taiwanese investors raised with Romulo, is the ability of foreign investors to own property. Under the Constitution, foreigners are not allowed to own land in the Philippines.

During the term of former Finance Secretary Edgardo B. Espiritu, there had been a proposal to make some economic changes in the Constitution that would allow foreigners to own property in the country. However, that proposal met stiff oppositions.

Another concern of Taiwanese investors, continues to be the militant labor force in the country. The increasingly militant groups have already resulted in the pullout of some big multinational companies from the country.

Foreign investors are also complaining that the wage levels in the country are no longer competitive.

There was also some concern about the peace and order situation, Go admitted.

The local Chinese community itself, Go said, met recently with Philippine National Police chief Gen. Leandro Mendoza to discuss their continuing kidnapping of Chinese-Filipino businessmen and their families.

Go said the PNP, had agreed to put up a special PNP Chinese-Filipino business desk to address business-related security problems.