Personal Finance, Family and Career

For those OFWs who are contemplating on returning to the Philippines for good and want to start a good business, they could start Papaya farming.

There are OFWs who have bought lands, There are also retirees who already have land. These lands could be the start of you Papaya farm.

If you don’t have any farm lot yet, there are a lot of land that could be brought in the province. They are cheap, the soil is rich. A good choice for farming.

The ‘Sinta’, a Philippine-bred hybrid papaya isn’t affected much by the PRSV or ringspot virus.

One tree of a ‘Sinta’ Papaya yields more fruits than its counterparts. Every Sinta papaya yields 17-50 papaya fruits. And because the ‘Sinta’ papaya is a dwarf tree, it is extremely easy to harvest and sell. ‘Sinta’ papaya fruits have an average weight of 1.2kgs to 2.0kgs.

More on the continuation

I’ve recently gotten hold of a question from PinoyMoneyTalk.com

Hello!

I’m new here and again would like to thank the people behind this wonderful learning resource.

A bit of a background, I am a freelance photographer looking for something to do with 100K. This money is at my disposal, interest free. The only thing is, I have to return it to its owner about a year after I first use it.

I’ve explored many ideas from furniture to food but since I’m a business newbie, none seem “safe” enough for me. I also do not want to invest this in photography equipment because I already have all I need and given the number of photographers out there vying for projects, I don’t think I can return the money intact on the deadline after i deduct my expenses. So as of right now, the money remains untouched.

That said, would anyone here be able to offer effective suggestions as to what to invest in?

I look forward to your input…

Thanks!

Don

This reminds of a post here at PinoySmartLife about what you can do with Php250,000.

However, the situation is different here. The Php100,000 amount is to be given back to the owner, hence, safety is one main concern.

One year is short for doing investments with capital you need to preserve. My suggestion is to look into Money Market Funds.

Here’s a list of Money Market UITFs/Mutual Funds:

• BDO Money Market Funds
• Sunlife Properity Money Market Fund
• Save and Learn Money Market Fund
• ALFM Money Market Fund

The Largest Banks by Net Income in 2010 are as follows:

The long awaited PERA tax rules have been posted.

DRAFT TAX RULES for the long-delayed Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) scheme have been issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), which is seeking final private sector feedback before implementation.

“We published the exposure draft [on our Web site]. We have also had a lot of meetings already with other private sector representatives to incorporate their comments into the tax rules. We don’t expect any major revisions,” Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares yesterday said.

The Capital Market Development Council (CMDC) will review the draft rules in the next two weeks and the Department of Finance will approve the final guidelines, CMDC executive director Rescina S. Bhagwani told BusinessWorld.

The tax rules are the last thing needed to roll out the PERA law or Republic Act 9505, which was signed in 2008 to encourage people to save up for retirement. Its implementing rules and regulations were issued in 2009 by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Similar to the tax rules issued for the Real Estate Investment Trust Act a few months back, the BIR has drawn up stringent guidelines to ensure that the PERA tax exemptions are not abused.

According to the still-unnumbered regulations, a Filipino can contribute a maximum of P100,000 to a PERA account. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are allowed P200,000 in annual contributions. A total of five PERA accounts can be held but they must be maintained by one duly registered administrator.

All PERA contributors are required to submit proof of income for the year to attest that the accounts — and their attendant tax perks — are taken solely from their earnings.

“If they are receiving somebody else’s money, they must be paying donor’s tax,” Ms. Henares said.

The investment income of PERA contributors are exempted from the final withholding tax on interest, capital gains tax on the sale of bonds and shares, 10% tax on cash and property dividends and regular income tax. Non-income taxes such as percentage taxes, value-added taxes and documentary stamp taxes, are still applicable, the draft states.

PERA holders will also be entitled to an annual tax credit equivalent to 5% of all their contributions for the year. Resident Filipinos can charge this tax credit against their income tax liability. OFWs, exempted from income taxes, can charge this against any other national internal revenue tax liability.

“The tax credit arising from PERA contributions shall not be refundable or transferable,” the draft adds.

Moreover, the tax breaks will not be extended to employers who contribute to their employees’ PERA accounts.

“The total of the employer’s and the employee’s contribution to his PERA and all the benefits, including tax incentives and privileges arising therefrom, shall belong to the employee…,” the issuance reads.

“The employee also retains the prerogative to make investment decisions pertaining to his PERA, including the contribution made in his favor by the employer,” it continues.

The employer’s contribution should also be in addition to, and not in lieu of, mandatory Social Security System remittances and retirement benefits required by the Labor Code.

The BIR has proposed a steep penalty system for “any person, natural or juridical, who unduly avails of the tax exemptions and privileges granted herein…”

Those found violating the law will be fined anywhere between P50,000 to P200,000 or imprisoned for six to 12 years. They will also be required to refund the government double the amount of the tax exemptions enjoyed under the PERA Act, plus a 12% interest per annum.

“The PERA Act is a major revenue-eroding measure, but it is a law so we must implement it. The best thing we can do is to ensure that the only exemptions that will be given are those that are granted by the law,” Ms. Henares said.