A ray of hope shone through the thick fog of anxiety over the latest COVID upsurge: the signing into law by President Duterte of Republic Act 11534, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE). It is regarded as a “historic economic reform” that is “one of the largest in decades.” A broad coalition of 51 leading business, industry, academic and professional organizations strongly endorsed its passage.  They declared in their manifesto of support:  “As a stimulus package, CREATE will be a boost to market confidence, providing instant relief to businesses suffering from business reverses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”  Advocates believe that it would mitigate the “risk of losing more jobs and hemorrhaging more investments.” The new law finally lowers the highest corporate income tax rate in Southeast Asia and among ASEAN countries.  It is regarded as a major breakthrough in tax reform, coming on the heels of other path-finding initiatives since the Duterte administration assumed office in June 2016. It follows the enactment of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law that provided total exemption from personal income taxes for all those earning less than P250,000 per annum.  To recoup the foregone tax collections, the government imposed new taxes on cars, fuel and sugar-sweetened beverages; reduced taxes on essential medicines for chronic illnesses; and lowered estate and donor taxes to six per cent to free up idle real properties for productive use. TRAIN Package 2 imposed additional “sin taxes” on alcohol, heated tobacco and vapor products.  The Rice Tarrification Law was passed in March 2019 generating money for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.  Then the Tax Amnesty Law of 2019 extended an estate tax amnesty.  These tax incentive laws boosted overall revenue generation for the national coffers until the COVID outbreak snapped the economy’s growth trajectory. Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which employ a majority of Filipino workers in the country, will be the biggest beneficiaries of CREATE through the grant of the largest ever corporate income tax  (CIT) rate reduction in the country. The CREATE law cuts the regular CIT rate by 10 percentage points, from 30 percent to 20 percent, for domestic corporations with a taxable income of P5 million and below, and with total assets of not more than P100 million. All other domestic corporations will benefit from an immediate reduction of the CIT rate from 30 percent to 25 percent. Foreign corporations currently paying the regular rate will also enjoy a reduced 25-percent CIT rate. Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Salceda points out that under the CREATE law, research and development expenses are eligible for double deductions from taxable income.  This would boost the competitiveness of the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. In Tholons’ Global Innovation Index 2021 report, the Philippines dropped from its 5th spot in 2020 to 18th in the Top 50 Digital Nations while Manila stumbled from 2nd to 8th place in the Top 100 Super Cities category. Hope runs high that the CREATE law will stimulate economic recovery, generate fresh investments and open new paths for innovation.