PH House Panel Okay's Bill Lowering Tax on Stock Transactions for Investment Competitiveness

​The House Committee on Ways and Means approved a measure that would help boost the Philippine stock market and investment competitiveness.

A measure seeking to boost the capital markets and the investment competitiveness of the Philippines by reducing taxes for stock transactions has been approved at the House of Representatives.

​​During the hearing, the panel approved the unnumbered substitute bill to HB 8958, or the proposed “Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act", which seeks to amend the National Internal Revenue Code.

One of the features of the approved proposal is the immediate reduction of the stock transaction tax from 0.6 percent to 0.1 percent.

Committee chair Joey Salceda, who also authored bill, said the proposed reduction of stock transaction tax would help boost the country’s investment competitiveness.

“The measure will help boost the Philippine stock market, which has stagnated at the expense of pensioners, small investors, and others whose incomes rely on these passive investments,” Salceda said.

The bill also proposes the reduction of the tax on dividends to foreign non-residents from 25 percent to 10 percent.

The expansion of the definition of shares of stocks to include options, derivatives, and short-selling, was made upon the proposal of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Rep. Salceda said that while the reform would result in a revenue loss, it would increase the pension assets of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).