Gov’t supports IT-BPM sector growth, resolves issue on tax incentives

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno assured the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry that the government is committed to boosting its growth.

“The Philippine government stands ready to support the continued growth of IT-BPM companies by building an enabling business environment in order to boost the country’s competitiveness in the field of business processes and services,” said Secretary Diokno at the Contact Center Association conference on October 20, 2022.

Chaired by the Department of Finance (DOF), the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) made the decision to allow the transfer of registered IT-BPM companies to the Board of Investments (BOI) to resolve the sector’s long-standing issue on tax incentive claims while performing business activities beyond their zone limits.

Secretary Diokno said that the FIRB understands the motivation behind work-from-home setups as new business models amid the changes in the business landscape.

Given the global contact center and business processing services markets’ exponential growth in the past 15 years, the DOF strongly recognizes the need to integrate new, adaptive, and sustainable workforce models to boost the Philippines’ competitiveness in the field of business processes and services.

According to the projections of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the IT-BPM industry is expected to generate up to 1.1 million direct jobs by 2028.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines remains to be one of the most preferred locations for delivering business processing and contact center services. Moreover, with various firms employing new techniques and work models, the IT-BPM sector has effectively set the stage for digitalization to flourish in the Philippines.

Secretary Diokno cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for the industry to evolve even faster––resulting in a dynamic, reliable, and significantly more agile IT-BPM industry that is aligned with the DOF’s push for a sustainable and digitally-powered economy.

As head of the economic team, Secretary Diokno said he is one with the need to reimagine the future of work. The increased relevance of the IT-BPM industry in today’s economy has enabled digitalization to flourish in the Philippines.

“Let me assure you that the Department of Finance and the FIRB are one with the Contact Center Association of the Philippines in promoting the country as an industry leader and top investment destination in the contact center sector,” said Secretary Diokno.