MANILA – New locators at integrated economic centers of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. are well-positioned to avail optimum tax benefits, thanks to the government’s Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) law which aims to provide lower taxes to qualified companies.
CREATE is set to give businesses a much-needed boost after being passed into law amid the economic challenges brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“New and expanding locators in our integrated economic centers stand to benefit from the CREATE law. The locations of our industrial estates in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas and Balamban, Cebu will allow both exporters and domestic enterprises to maximize the incentives CREATE offers,” Aboitiz Integrated Economic Centers first vice president Rafael Fernandez de Mesa said in a statement Wednesday.
Under CREATE, new exporters based in places such as Lipa-Malvar, Batangas and Balamban, Cebu, can enjoy as much as seven years of income tax holiday (ITH), and 10 years of special corporate income tax (SCIT) or enhanced deductions (ED) regime.
New domestic enterprises in the same location can also enjoy the same ITH benefit and five years of ED.
Further, CREATE reduces the income tax rates for corporations to 25 percent. Domestic corporations may enjoy a lower income tax rate of 20 percent subject to certain conditions.
“It will help spur economic recovery and drive new investment to the countryside, where we are ready to meet the anticipated demand with the ongoing expansion of our world-class estates,” de Mesa added.
Last year, Aboitiz InfraCapital unveiled expansion plans for LIMA Estate and West Cebu Industrial Park (WCIP) in response to the strong demand for industrial and commercial spaces in Batangas and Cebu.
Expansion and acquisition activities are on track, with the first phase of LIMA’s industrial expansion of 34 hectares currently open for reservations and under construction. It will become available for locators to construct by the second quarter of 2022.
Commercial lots ideal for business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, offices, dormitories, condominiums, and other commercial uses are also now available for sale in LIMA’s Central Business District. Lot sizes range from 1,800 up to 5,000 square meters.
Meanwhile, LIMA’s additional 47-hectare industrial expansion and WCIP’s 42 hectare-industrial expansion will become available for reservations beginning first quarter of 2022.
The Aboitiz Integrated Economic Centers -- namely LIMA Estate in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas, Mactan Economic Zone II in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, and the West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban, Cebu -- are Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-registered economic zones collectively spanning 1,000 hectares and home to 187 locators and around 90,000 employees.
With their own ecosystem of infrastructure solutions such as water and power, as well as other complementary components like shopping malls, hotels, commercial lots for sale, and residential developments, the Aboitiz integrated economic centers are all masterfully designed for a multi-faceted and vibrant township lifestyle.
CREATE was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on March 26, 2021, with a direct veto on certain provisions. It took effect on April 11, 2021, 15 days after its publication last March 27, 2021. (PR)
