Philippines Lawmakers Approve Bill Taxing Foreign Digital Services to Boost Local Industry

• Philippine lawmakers have approved a bill to tax foreign digital services, including streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO, and Disney
• The bill proposes a 12% value-added tax on digital transactions with non-resident digital service providers
• The tax aims to support domestic streaming platforms while global giants like Netflix and Viu expand in the Philippines
• The proposed tax could generate up to 18 billion pesos in its first year
• Approximately 5% of the revenue would be used for the development of creative industries
• The bill has gained urgency due to the government’s need to increase revenue to address budget deficit and debt
• The bill will require President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signature to become law
• The budget department unveiled a proposed 2025 national budget of 6.35 trillion pesos, including plans for significant infrastructure spending.

Source: globalvatcompliance.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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