Taxwise or Otherwise

"Taxwise or Otherwise" discusses the latest developments in tax and business law in the Philippines. It also dissects current issues affecting the business community, including policy development. 

Writers are taken from a pool of business and tax consultants of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers global network. Columns regularly appear in the BusinessWorld newspaper.

Latest column

Drug companies made to take a bitter pill
By Jo Katrina V. Brotonel, 29 October 2009

On June 6, 2008, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act 9502, also known as the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008," which aims to promote and ensure equal access to affordable quality drugs and medicines.

One year down the road, this piece of legislation has become more relevant as calamity-stricken Juan dela Cruz, barely recovering from the wrath of Ondoy and Pepeng, now faces the outbreak of flood-related diseases.With the soaring prices of medicines to combat these diseases, RA 9502 may be a timely state-intervention through meaningful legislation.It would have made a very sweet ending, but because it failed to address other implications such as relevant tax consequences to those affected, it has somehow turned into a bitter pill to be swallowed, eyes closed, by the pharmaceutical industry.

Read column: Drug companies made to take a bitter pill

Past columns

• Tourism Act of 2009: Welcome to the Philippines 16 October 2009
• Tax tips after a catastrophe 08 October 2009
• Declogging CTA docket and exhaustion of administrative remedies 18 September 2009
• Magna Carta of Women and Taxation 10 September 2009
• A fate worse than debt 03 September 2009
• Technical knockout 20 August 2009
• Employee retention: Labor concerns in the BPO industry (Part 4) 13 August 2009
• Coffee and lunch breaks: Labor concerns in the BPO industry (Part 3) 30 July 2009
• Mediation of tax cases 24 July 2009
• Offsetting Philippine holidays with US holidays: Labor concerns in the BPO industry (Part 2) 09 July 2009
• Clarifications on night work prohibition: Labor concerns in the BPO industry (Part 1) 02 July 2009
• Truth or dare 25 June 2009
• Incentives and privileges under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 18 June 2009
• Does the tax bureau need a sparring PAREtner? 11 June 2009
• Fraud risks amid the current financial crisis 04 June 2009
• Delegation of BIR authority to sign rulings 28 May 2009
• Measuring Human Capital 22 May 2009
• Revocation of VAT exemption of HMOs 07 May 2009
• Final is not the end; Not yet 24 April 2009
• What’s in store In the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan 16 April 2009
• Ambiguity in legislative franchises 26 March 2009
• Incentives for the disabled 19 March 2009
• Tax bureau taking steps in the right direction 12 March 2009
• BIR’s ‘Oplan Kandado’ 19 February 2009
• Essentials in creating an information security mindset 05 February 2009
• Guidelines on the preparation of the annual income tax return 29 January 2009
• SAS 70: Credentials for outsourcing firms 22 January 2009
• Landmark Japan-Philippines Trade Deal: A recap (Part 1) 09 January 2009
• Landmark Japan-Philippines Trade Deal: A recap (Part 2) 15 January 2009
• Tax pointers for the year-end 19 December 2008

To access previous Taxwise or Otherwise columns, please contact:
Lyn Golez, Tax services