The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday bared its support for the proposal lowering the stock transactions tax to attract more investors to the domestic capital market.
The proposal is contained in House Bill 8958, or the proposed Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act, filed by Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda in August.
The bill has undergone deliberations at the committee level and had been substituted by House Bill 9277 filed on 21 September aiming to bring the stock transaction tax down to 0.1 percent of the stock value from the current rate of 0.6 percent.
The tax on the dividend earnings of non-residents will be reduced to 10 percent from 25 percent.
Salceda, who also heads the House ways and means committee, hopes the reduction will bring the local capital market at par with its regional counterparts and encourage more local and foreign investors to participate.
“The SEC welcomes the efforts of our legislators to boost the capital market as this recognizes the contribution and potential of the financial sector to help in the development of the Philippine economy, toward easing and improving the lives of all Filipinos,” SEC chairman Emilio B. Aquino said.
“We will work closely with our lawmakers to ensure that new laws and policies will be reflective of the needs and demands of the market and investors, while still balancing the commission’s role as regulator,” he said.
