Santiago, Recto want tax exemptions for bigger Christmas bonuses

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Two senators have filed separate bills allowing a greater number of Filipino workers to enjoy their Christmas bonuses and 13th month pay tax-free.

To achieve this, the measures authored by Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Ralph Recto seek to amend Section 32 of the National Internal Revenue Code. The current provision exempts from tax gross benefits worth less than P30,000.

Santiago’s Senate Bill No. 2739 raises the ceiling to P40,000 while Recto’s Senate Bill  No. 2879 pegs it at P60,000.

In his bill’s explanatory note, Recto argued that the prevailing ceiling for tax exemption “does not mirror prevailing circumstances.”

“The ceiling of P30,000 for the exemption does not apply today as it did when it was incorporated in the tax code,” he said.

“The law should always be responsive to the needs of the people. An increase in the ceiling of this particular tax exemption is one of the reliefs the people need during these hard times.”

Santiago noted that Christmas bonuses and related benefits “come only once a year and in a time when prices of commodities increase because of the demand for more food on the table to celebrate the season.”

Originally posted at 10:53 pm | Thursday, December 22, 2011