Micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs in Davao are asking for a simpler processing of application to avail of local and national tax exemptions under the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE) law.
This was the common clamor among most participants of the third public hearing for the amendment of the BMBE law.
House Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development chairman Representative Teddy Casino explained that certain provisions of the law need to be amended as data show only very few MSMEs have availed of the benefits of this law.
Only 44 small and medium entrepreneurs of Davao City have applied for the benefits of the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE) law which includes local and national tax and permit exemptions.
Casino said most of the applicants have waited long because the process includes approval by the Bureau of Internal Revenue central office.
«So, instead of making this bill attractive to small business owners, they see it as an additional burden,» said Casino.
The amendatory bill once approved, will shorten processing time and exempt MSMEs from local and national tax and fees for six years.
«This is one way to help our MSMEs establish themselves and at the same time get the informal layers into the system,» said Casino.
One of the highlights of the amendatory bill is the expansion of institutions mandated to provide lending to registered BMBEs. It now includes the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) as among the government agencies which will set up a credit window to serve the financing needs of members.
The Workers in the Informal Sector of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC-WIS) is also included among the agencies that can tap the BMBE Development Fund.
Casino said the various proposals to amend the BMBE law aim to encourage small firms to register their business by increasing and rationalizing the incentives granted to micro business enterprises, as well as increase their access to credit. [PIA 11/Mai Gevera-Macapagat]
