1. Pilot schools to be moved out of NAIA
THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) wants aviation schools to transfer to regional airports to decongest from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Ramon S. Gutierrez, CAAP officer-in-charge, told reporters at the sidelines of an aviation summit last week the state-owned Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will take charge in the implementation of the plan.
“The plan is still in principle and we are actually expecting resistance from the aviation school administrators, owners and students as most of them are foreigners. Most of the foreign students want to attend an aviation school near NAIA because they go to their home countries from time to time,” he said.
However, Mr. Gutierrez said allowing regional airports to house the aviation schools would translate to additional revenues as most of these airports have lower flight frequencies compared with NAIA.
“This will be part of CAAP and MIAA’s immediate plans. This will give these small airports additional revenues as they only generate revenues from air navigation fees for the airports,” he said.
Mr. Gutierrez said his agency broke even last year with close to P3 billion in revenues.
“Our revenues last year will be just enough for the maintenance but will not be enough for capital expenses. It will not be enough to maintain 86 airports. We will give the schools the preference which regional airport they would want to go to,” he said.
In July last year, CAAP ordered an audit of all 63 aviation schools in the country as the agency discovered that fake licenses had been issued to some student pilots.
2.Full body scanners at NAIA mulled
MANILA, Philippines – By next year, travelers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport may find themselves in a literally revealing and potentially humiliating situation.
Plans are afoot for the acquisition of full body scanners to upgrade standard security checks on arriving and departing passengers at the airports, according to the Manila International Airport Authority.
Vicente Guerzon Jr., MIAA's assistant general manager for security and emergency services, said the agency was firming up plans and hoping to complete the purchase of the “high-value” equipment in 2012.
In an interview, he said he was aware that the scanners might provoke a public outcry, considering how some of the models exposed an individual's privates.
Guerzon noted that the use of the equipment had been generating controversy in the United States and provoking debates about where to draw the line between privacy rights and the need to enforce security.
Mindful of the possible backlash, he said the MIAA would hold talks with the Commission on Human Rights to discuss the parameters on the use of the full body scanners.
Among the issues to be raised would be whether to use the scanners on everyone or on randomly selected individuals, and how many security personnel to be involved during the process, he said.
He said it was not yet clear how much the scanners would cost, but added that the MIAA might need at least 35 of them for the international and domestic terminals.
Guerzon said his office had submitted the terms of reference for the acquisition to the MIAA bids and awards committee.
The NAIA has been on heightened alert since Tuesday's deadly bus bombing on Edsa, deploying twice the usual number of security guards and increasing patrols by bomb-sniffing dogs.
Guerzon said the 600 security guards had been doubled, and so had the 60 members of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group assigned at the airport complex.
He said airport police were also conducting more patrols and intensifying intelligence activities. “We're gathering and sharing intelligence with other agencies to update our security assessment,” he said in an interview.
So far, he said there have been no intelligence reports indicating that the NAIA might be a target of a terrorist attack.
3. Flash floods hit metro Cebu anew
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Heavy rains spawned flash floods in parts of metro Cebu anew on Thursday.
The floods affected Cebu City and Talisay City, where a creek in Barangay Cansojong overflowed its banks, residents said.
Villagers were forced to use kayaks to cross the flood, which inundated houses.
Bad weather, meanwhile, forced aviation authorities to either cancel or delay some domestic flights heading to and from Cebu.
The affected flights include the Bacolod-Cebu 57 125 and Cebu Surigao 5J 857.
Heavy rains also prompted public school officials to suspend classes.
Classes have already been suspended for 2 days at the Banilad Elementary School, while Subang Daku Elementary School and Cesar Cabahug Elementary School suffered damage from strong winds.
The Cebu City Engineer’s Office blamed informal settlers living in creeks for the floods that hit the city this week.
The city government plans to spend P120 million to dredge creeks in Cebu.
4. How friendly are the Philippine skies?
In an effort to enhance competition in an already vibrant airline industry, the Philippines is taking a major step towards easing restrictions within the commercial aviation sector. Government has announced that an executive order will be issued that will further liberalize the air transportation industry by allowing international airlines to use secondary gateways, a privilege previously exclusive to domestic carriers. Along with the increase in the number of stakeholders and the regulatory challenges, tax is certain to be an issue intertwined with flying in and out of the Philippine skies.
The taxation of revenues of international carriers, regardless of whether they have so-called "permanent establishments" in the Philippines, has been the subject of debate since the concept of Gross Philippine Billings was introduced by Presidential Decree (PD) 69 in 1972.
In the recent decision of South African Airways vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, G.R. No. 180356, promulgated Feb. 16, 2010, the Supreme Court held that "if an international air carrier maintains flights to and from the Philippines, it shall be taxed at the rate of 2.5% of its Gross Philippine Billings, while international air carriers that do not have flights to and from the Philippines but nonetheless earn income from other activities in the country will be taxed at the rate of 32% (now 30%) of such income." In so ruling, the High Court dismissed claims that international carriers without landing rights in the Philippines are exempt from paying income tax. The Supreme Court effectively reiterated its ruling in the landmark 1987 case of British Overseas Airways Corp. that offline carriers with local general sales agents are considered resident foreign corporations doing business in the Philippines, thus tickets sales are subject to corporate income tax under Sec. 28 (A)(1) of the Tax Code.
Prior to the South African Airways case, the taxation rules on foreign carriers were not as clear. Under PD 1355, which amended the 1977 Tax Code, gross Philippine billings (GPB) include gross revenue derived from the sale of tickets in the Philippines covering the carriage of passengers from anywhere in the world and cargo or baggage originating in the Philippines. In the 1997 Tax Code, however, GPB was redefined to only include the "amount of gross revenue derived from carriage of persons, excess baggage, cargo and mail originating from the Philippines in a continuous and uninterrupted flight, irrespective of the place of sale or issue and the place of payment of the ticket or passage document."
This new concept had raised issues on the taxability of offline carriers on their income from the sale of tickets in the Philippines through their local agents. At first blush, it appears that since these carriers do not transport passengers and cargo from the Philippines, they are not subject to tax since they do not derive taxable GPB as defined under the 1997 Tax Code. This also meant that offline carriers cannot thus be considered as nonresident foreign corporations doing business in the Philippines.
However, in the case of Air Canada vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CTA (First Division) Case No. 6572, promulgated Dec. 22, 2004, the CTA held that offline carriers are considered resident foreign corporations since they are doing business in the Philippines. Citing Supreme Court rulings, the CTA reasoned that a foreign airline selling tickets in the Philippines through its local agents shall be considered as engaged in trade or business, as these activities show continuity of commercial dealings performed in pursuit of business purpose. Such ruling was sustained by the CTA En Banc in the appeal made by Air Canada (CTA EB No. 86, promulgated Aug. 26, 2005).
The Supreme Court sustained the Air Canada ruling in the South African Airways decided in 2010.
In the South African Airways case, the Supreme Court noted that there are no specific criteria as to what constitutes doing business. The Supreme Court held that the term "engaged in business in the Philippines" implies "continuity of commercial dealings and arrangements" which includes the performance of acts pursuant to the purpose and object of the business organization, such as the appointment of a local agent. Since the sale of tickets -- the activity which produces the income -- is done in the Philippines even if the carriage of person, baggage, cargo or mail is done outside the Philippines, it is a Philippine-sourced income subject to tax.
From these rulings, it can be inferred that the courts steadfastly held to the source principle in Philippine income taxation, which contemplates the idea that an alien is subject to Philippine tax if he or she derives income from sources within the Philippines. This is not at all contradictory to the subject of tax on GPB because the situs of taxation is still the primary consideration. In case of airlines with landing rights in the Philippines, the determination of the situs of taxation is the service which is provided in the Philippines, i.e., the carriage of persons or cargo from the Philippines. For offline carriers, on the other hand, the determination of the status of tax is the place of sale of tickets, such that if the tickets are sold in the Philippines, the income from these sales is subject to tax.
International airlines that will take advantage of Government’s pocket open skies policy will be subject to the GPB tax regime since they would carry passengers from domestic locations and fly them to international destinations.
Now that the Supreme Court has clarified the rules on the taxability of foreign carriers, the willingness to open the market to cross-border investments could very well result in more revenues for Government, increased participation of foreign players and improved services from local airlines at competitive prices that will benefit the flying public.
By
NEHA JAIN
AeroSoft Corp Indore| Aviation B2B Services | Best SEO in Indore |
www.aerosoft.in
complete Aviation Link Building Services | AeroSoft Corp |India | Asia -World's Best Aviation Directories
www.aerosoft.co.in
AeroSoft Corp | Aviation SEO Services | Best in India | Finest in Asia
www.aerosoftcorp.in
Best links | Airlines Links | Aviation links | World's Best links |AeroSoft Corp |Best Aviation KPO & Link Exchange | Best in India & Finest in Asia
www.aerosoftcorp.co.in
Welcome To AeroSoft Corp| Best Aviation SEO Services | Jobs for Freshers | Jobs in Asia |Best In India | Finest In Asia | Professional pilot Jobs
www.aerosoftorg.in
Best Aviation SEO Services | Aviation SEO Jobs for Freshers | Aviation KPO Jobs in Asia |Best In India | Finest In Asia
www.aerosoftorg.co.in
AeroSoft Corp | Aviation SEO Services | Aviation KPO Services | Best in India | Finest in Asia
www.aerosoftseo.com
Ads by AeroSoft | Cyber Classifieds | Best Job
World Class Air Charter Services | Best Training | Best Job
World Class Travels Services | Best Tour Guide |
Best Tours & Travels Services | Best Travels Guide |
International Airlines Training Expo 2010
Aviation SEO Best in India & Finest in Asia
Jobs In Airlines | Airport Job | Aviation Industry Career
Best Pilot Training In Philippines BY Group of Indian Pilots
Your Gateway To Air Travel Industry | Best Training | Best Job
India's Best Asia's Finest Pilot Training Portal | Best Training | Best Job
Asia's Best Aviation B2B Market Place Of Pilot Training Academies In Asia
Find Best Aviation Training In Asia | Best Training | Best Job
To Start Your Career In Airlines | Best Training | Best Job
BE A PROFESSIONAL PILOT IN PHILIPPINES | Best Training | Best Job
Best Pilot Training Academy In Philippines
TMT Aviation School | Best Pilot Training school In Philippines
Aviation Acaemy Best In Gondia | Best Training | Best Job
Best Pilot Training | Best Training | Best Job
Careers In Airline Industry | Best Training | Best Job
Best Commercial Pilot Training In Philippines | Asia | Best Training | Best Job
Guidance For Pilot Training & Placement In India | Club For All Aviation Activities
World Class Pilot Career Placement In India | Best Training | Best Job
UK Link Exchange Link exchange World Class CPL PilotTraining in Asia | Best Training | Best Job
http://indianaviationcareernews.blogspot.com
http://canadaaviationnews.blogspot.com/
http://newzealandaviationnews.blogspot.com/
http://careerinaviationincanada.blogspot.com/
http://careeraviationnews.blogspot.com/
http://indianairlinesnews.blogspot.com/
http://bestaviationnews.blogspot.com/
http://mission2canada.blogspot.com/
http://philippinesaviationnews.blogspot.com/
Mission To Canada
Mission To Canada
www.missiontocanada.co.in
www.missiontocanada.org
www.missiontocanada.com
Lets Make Mission Possible
No comments:
Post a Comment