Dar said Citira’s provision to reduce the 30-percent corporate tax rate to 20 percent by 2029 can encourage agripreneurs to form more micro, small and medium enterprises.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar has expressed full support for the passage of the proposed Comprehensive Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (Citira) or House Bill (HB) 4157.
He said the measure would encourage the establishment of more agribusiness enterprises and attract young agripreneurs.
Dar said Citira, which has hurdled the Lower House, could lead to the setting up of more thriving agribusiness enterprises outside of Metro Manila and special economic zones (SEZ) and export processing zones (EPZA).
Thus, it would create more off-farm jobs and help reduce poverty incidence.
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At present, incentives like tax holidays are granted mostly to companies or locators in EPZ and EPZA.
Citira proposes to extend the granting of incentives, such as tax holidays to 10 years, to agribusiness firms based outside Metro Manila and current SEZ or EPZ locators wanting to set up branches in less-developed regions.
Dar said Citira’s provision to reduce the 30-percent corporate tax rate to 20 percent by 2029 can encourage agripreneurs to form more micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), and for cooperatives to convert into corporations.
The tax reduction would benefit all MSME that comprise 99 percent of all businesses in the country, according to the Department of Finance (DoF).
“More agribusiness companies operating outside Metro Manila will also lead to the formation of more ‘small brother-big brother’ arrangements between smallholder farmers and agri-industrial firms,” he added.
He also encouraged small farmers and fisherfolk to form cooperatives and food manufacturing enterprises and engage in value-adding.
The Agri chief also urged more Filipino youths to engage in agriculture, fisheries, food processing and agribusiness enterprises.
“Lowering the corporate income tax under Citira will help attract more Filipino youth into agribusiness over the long term. So, I also see Citira helping create an ecosystem for agripreneurship and take root in the rural areas,” Dar added.
He said the DA will launch early next year a national agripreneur program catering exclusively to graduates of agriculture, fisheries, forestry and agribusiness college courses.
“There is so much room for pioneering activities in agriculture and agribusiness, and granting incentives to attract investors in the rural areas,” he added.
