#MINDANAO
What this means is that confidence starts to rise. We hope this continues, as the jobs lost need to be regained, and new industries may need to take root as a response to the new normals that require flexibility to prevent infections. Maintaining necessary protocols and keeping infections at a level where our health facilities can cope will be critical.
Digitalization drives a demand for services, and is a catalyst to our resilience.
As our recovery continues, vital stories perhaps less heard of include the high demand for digitalization services in the form of website upgrades and the development of online platforms to aid sales and match customers.
With this, many businesses are beginning to realize that going online was a decision they should have made earlier. Moreover, they note the benefit and how much less it will cost them to trade since it reduces the need for renting a commercial space. Many opt for both physical and online stores to boost sales.
This now gives them two storefronts: the physical one for nearby customers and the virtual one for buyers located farther away. Between the two, the virtual one definitely has the advantage and potential for bringing bigger revenues over time as they begin to recover.
Digitalizing builds more flexibility and facilitates and enables business is a lesson learned by many enterprises.
Lets wish the economy well.
To wish that the economy crashes just to fit one’s political bias is not only infantile, but unpatriotic and unfair for many, as surveys show, who care less about their politics and more on the desires for a stable income and family life, the dream of finally owning the homes they are living in.
Seems like there is an obsession among some to continue to cast the Filipino as a failed culture cursed in perpetual conflict and instability. Riding along this is the mental programming that our products and services are inferior to those of foreign countries and brands. Its time we broke away from that mentality. Perhaps its time for a rethink. Lets wish the economy well, whatever our politics.
WHY the in the CREATE bill is good for MSMEs
To address the queries of some readers about how the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) will help micro and small businesses, here is my reply:
For one, reducing corporate income taxes by 5% will enable us to cover more expenses and retain more employees, especially at this challenging time. The statement of support by about 33 business organizations attests to its benefit. The PCCI statement can be read here: https://www.philippinechamber.com/citira-1.
More importantly in my view, the expanded Net Operating Loss Carryover(NOLCO) will allow businesses to carry over these substantial 2020 losses due to the pandemic over the next five years. This will reduce future taxes and leave more cash for operations and expansion, and protecting and even creating more jobs as they recover.
Micro, small and medium businesses in particular are 90% of all businesses, employing almost 60% of all Pinoys. They comprise the bigger number of businesses those that are struggling, and these populate the countrysides, especially the fourth to fifth class towns, many of which are in the VIsayas and Mindanao.
For MSME entrepreneurs like me, this is a big help.
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