The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) seeks to provide small online businesses a three-year tax exemption period to encourage them to register with the government.
According to DTI Assistant Secretary Mary Jean Pacheco, this one of the provisions of the proposed Internet Transactions Act which was tackled at the hearing of the Senate committee on trade, commerce and entrepreneurship.
“It will encourage them to register and take care of their businesses in the first two to three years as they grow into a bigger business,” Pacheco said.
To qualify under the proposed act, registered business entities must not be an affiliate, subsidiary or a franchise of any existing company.
Moreover, proprietorships, one-person corporations, or partnerships must have no other registered companies, partnerships or businesses, whether previous or existing.
As for corporations, each stockholder must have at least a 5-percent share in stocks to qualify. In addition, the corporation must have no nominal stockholders holding the shares in trust for others.
In essence, the proposed act aims to cover transactions that are business-to-business, business-to-consumer, as well as other online activities including online retail of consumer goods and services, online travel services, online media providers, online delivery services, and digital financial services.
