Congress may hold special session for stimulus bills

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III suggested that Congress might need to hold a special session to pass pending post-pandemic stimulus bills, such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE).

Albay Representative and House Ways and Means committee chairman Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda proposed a special session to pass "critically-needed" measures to boost the economy, including the CREATE bill.

Salceda expressed optimism that Congress would approve the administration's second tax reform package before their break on June 3, and that the House would adopt the Senate version of CREATE if passed.

The CREATE bill is a revised form of CITIRA, which accelerates the timetable for reducing the corporate income tax to 25% from the current 30%.

The tax rate will be further reduced by 1 percentage point annually beginning 2023 until 2027, unlike CITIRA which proposed a gradual reduction until 20% in 2029.

The Department of Finance (DOF) considers the CREATE bill the "largest fiscal stimulus program for enterprises" in the country's history.