By Chino S. Leyco A group of economists has called on the Congress to take urgent action in passing into law the government’s proposed reforms in the corporate tax system to make the country’s taxation simpler, fairer and more efficient, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. DOF logo In a statement of support released by the DOF yesterday, eight of the country’s leading economists noted the “deficiencies” in the current corporate income tax (CIT) regime that hampered the country’s growth and competitiveness. The economists include former Finance Undersecretary Romeo Bernardo, professors Dante Canlas and Gerardo Sicat of the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Economics, and Gilberto Llanto of the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS). Also signed were assistant professor Renato Reside Jr. of UP School of Economics, Monetary Board members Felipe Medalla, and Bruce Tolentino, as well as former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. They lauded the efforts of the DOF and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to modernize the CIT system as part of the Duterte administration’s objective of making tax policy reform “a key pillar of socioeconomic policy and tool for fair and inclusive growth.” The proposals of the DOF and DTI to overhaul the corporate tax system are contained in Package Two of the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP). “As Congress deliberates on the second package of the reform, we express our support for the main principle of a corporate tax system that is broad-based and competitive relative to our peers in the region,” they said in their joint statement of support.