Soco seeks 3-year leeway for MSMEs

CEBU. Incoming sixth district Provincial Board member Glenn Anthony Soco says his plans will help make Cebu the friendliest investment destination for aspiring entrepreneurs. Soco is a past president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SunStar file)
CEBU. Incoming sixth district Provincial Board member Glenn Anthony Soco says his plans will help make Cebu the friendliest investment destination for aspiring entrepreneurs. Soco is a past president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (SunStar file)

INCOMING Sixth District Provincial Board Member Glenn Anthony Soco wants to make the province of Cebu the friendliest investment destination for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Soco, who was the former Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president, said micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development and job creation will be among his priority projects as soon as he assumes as Provincial Board member.

Soco will be urging the local government units (LGUs) to support startup businesses for three years before asking them to pay for business permits and taxes.

MSMEs are those that have capitalization below P3 million.

Soco said the three-year leeway would help these firms incubate their businesses first.

“The problem we see is that even prior to setting up a business, aspiring entrepreneurs already shell out big money. Let’s help them grow first before we tax them,” said Soco.

LGUs, according to Soco, can give these MSMEs special permits to operate and log them into the town’s business directory so that on the fourth year, when they renew their businesses, the LGU can begin collecting taxes from them.

Soco said it is the high cost of doing business that prevents informal entrepreneurs from operating formally.

Entrepreneurs, he said, shell out not less than P50,000, depending on the nature of the business, to obtain the necessary permits and hire additional people to take care of their sales records.

“The three years will be the breathing space to ensure the growth of the business and make it stable,” Soco said.

He noted that in most cases, many businesses fail in their first year, at the stage when they are still setting it up and that collecting fees and taxes from them even before they see their ventures grow may discourage them from continuing what they have started.

“There is no guarantee you’ll be successful in business. That’s why support is important during the early stages,” he said.

According to Soco, the first year is the phase of setting up the business while the second year is the phase of strengthening the business. It is on the third year where entrepreneurs normally make the money.

He added that the LGU will not lose a big amount by delaying its tax collection because as these businesses grow, the LGU can collect more from them.

“Let us tax them at the right time,” he said. “This is not a way of giving them incentives but for government to consider it as its investment, which will give them more after the third year.”

Soco said many of the MSMEs are not from well-off families who can back them up with financial resources. Some are high school and college undergraduates who ventured into business just to support their families.

“Some don’t know the intricacies of paying taxes, so let’s focus on helping them build their businesses first,” he said.

Aside from the tax leeway for would-be entrepreneurs, Soco said he has also initially discussed with Cebu governor-elect Gwendolyn Garcia the possibility of bringing back the Obra-Negosyo Eskuwela Countryside Enterprise Business Upliftment Program (One-Cebu).

The One Cebu program identifies, supports and mentors micro and small entrepreneurs to become viable and sustainable through public-private partnerships.

The project was a collaboration of the Cebu Provincial Government, the MCCI and schools.

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