Bill exempting senior citizens from income tax filed

MANILA, Philippines — A bill that would exempt senior citizens from paying income taxes to help them save up for their retirement has been filed in the House of Representative.

According to party list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes, chair of the House senior citizens committee, many of the elderly are unable to fully enjoy life when they retire as they cannot put away enough money due to the rising cost of goods and services.

House Bill No. 8832, which Ordanes filed earlier this month, would grant income tax exemptions to employed Filipinos age 60 and above. It also exempts their holiday pay, overtime pay, night shift differential pay and hazard pay from taxes.

The Income Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens’ Act bill would revise the National Internal Revenue Code as amended by Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act.

“Through this, we can finally fulfill our constitutional mandate to promote social justice by protecting and upholding the welfare of the vulnerable sectors of our society while helping them achieve the Filipino dream of a comfortable retirement,” Ordanes said.

Comfortable retirement

He noted that senior citizens would need P40,000 to P60,000 monthly to retire comfortably, citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, which showed that 75 percent of them were not covered by social security or retirement plans that provided monthly pensions.

Of those who do get monthly pensions, 60 percent receive P5,000 while only 4 percent receive P30,000 and above. In 2018, senior citizens spent P171.55 billion for their health-care expenses alone.

“Thus, a significant majority of senior citizens are constrained to heavily rely on their savings upon retirement,” Ordanes said.