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REVENUES
derived from so-called carbon credits may now be used by
firms registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) in
increasing their claims for income-tax holidays (ITH).
Trade
Undersecretary and BOI managing head Elmer Hernandez
said this reflects the government’s support for the
clean-development mechanism being espoused globally to
protect the environment from greenhouse gases.
This new
policy, Hernandez said, will make more viable those
projects that rely mainly on their revenues from
carbon-emission reduction credits (popularly known as
carbon credits) given by developed countries.
“This is
considered a milestone for us and we expect more
investments to come in because we are already receiving
numerous inquiries on this,” Hernandez said.
This new
policy will cover projects that employ technologies to
reduce or eliminate emissions of harmful gases.
According to the Kyoto Protocol, these projects will
receive up to $5 for every metric ton of reduced carbon.
He said
projects like the conversion to power of methane gas in
the Payatas dump, which receives a lot of carbon
credits, will now be allowed to incorporate these
carbon-credit revenues to their total income where the
ITH will be based.
Previously, BOI-registered firms could not do this
because the ITH covers only the income of companies from
their registered projects.
BOI-registered
companies must present their certification from a global
certifying body to avail themselves of this. |
