MANILA: More than 1,200 projects with total investments of over PHP1.2 trillion have so far been approved under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act as of end-June this year. In a recent Facebook post, the Department of Finance (DOF) said approved projects under the CREATE Act since April 2021 to June this year has reached 1,239, with a total committed investment capital of PHP1.27 trillion. These projects are expected to generate 159,486 new jobs. Broken down, the Cabinet-level Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has approved 57 applications with investment capital amounting to PHP953.06 billion. These FIRB-approved projects are expected to generate 39,854 jobs. The Investment Promotion Agencies, meanwhile, have approved a total of 1,182 applications worth PHP313.32 billion. These are anticipated to create additional 119,632 new jobs. CREATE establishes a performance-based, time-bound, targeted, and transparent tax incentives regime in the country. Incentivized pro jects or activities under the key structural tax reform aim to achieve performance metrics to ensure that the grant of fiscal support to registered business enterprises leads to higher economic returns. Source: Philippines News agency