By BusinessWorld
Retailers are expected to book up to 15% in revenue growth this year to around P5.4 trillion, driven by healthy remittances and a growing population, the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) said.
“We are forecasting a 10-15% increase for 2025 for the retail industry from both in-store and online retail transactions in the Philippines,” PRA President Roberto S. Claudio told reporters last week.
In 2024, the industry is estimated to have generated P4.7 trillion in revenue.
“People are out, shopping malls are full, and the traffic is back, which means people are shopping, so we are looking forward to 2025 to be a banner year,” he said.
“There are so many infrastructure projects that will be completed. Overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances continue to go up. Population continues to grow. So there are many factors that will contribute to the growth of retail, especially with the advent of online channels,” he added.
He said that the industry still wants the government to include goods sold online to be subject to value-added tax (VAT).
In October, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed into law Republic Act No. 12023, which amended the National Revenue Code of 1997 and imposed a 12% VAT on foreign digital service providers.
“In the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), there’s a provision that digital goods are not included but only intangible ones like Netflix and Disney (which are) services,” Mr. Claudio said.
“With the advent of e-commerce … you will not be subject to tax if the consignee is an individual and not a store. It is not covered by tax. That is what we are asking for because it is a big thing,” he added.
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