Arroyos seek more tax exemptions for workers

MANILA, Philippines - The two Arroyos in the House of Representatives are proposing that additional tax exemptions be given to salaried workers and other individual taxpayers.

Their proposal is contained in a bill that would amend the National Internal Revenue Code.

 â€œWe really hope that the additional exemptions proposed under the bill will be a welcome respite for the unheralded working class who provides the much-needed revenues for the government,” Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo said.

Arroyo authored the measure with his mother, former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The two are proposing the removal of the limitation on the number of dependents entitled to an exemption of P25,000 each. The law allows only four dependents.

The Arroyos also want parents and children with disability regardless of age to be included in the definition of dependents.

They are seeking a tax exemption of P50,000 for each dependent with disability.

The exemptions may be claimed only by one of the spouses in case of married taxpayers.

In case of legally separated couples, the spouse who has custody of their dependents can claim exemptions for them.

The Arroyos’ bill defines a dependent as “a legitimate, legitimated, illegitimate or legally adopted child chiefly dependent upon and living with the taxpayer if such dependent is not more than 21 years old, unmarried and not gainfully employed or if such dependent, regardless of age, is incapable of self-support because of mental or physical disability.”

Likewise, a dependent is “a parent or both parents, living with the taxpayer, not gainfully employed and dependent upon the latter for chief support, or where such parent are incapable of self-support because of mental or physical disability or old age.”

A disabled person is one “suffering from restriction or different abilities as a result of mental, physical or sensory impairment, to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.”

There are several other tax exemption bill pending in the House, including one that proposes to double the present P25,000 deduction for each of a maximum of four dependents.

This particular proposal means that a working couple with four dependents would be entitled to P300,000 in tax exemptions (P50,000 each for the spouses and P50,000 for every dependent), or a tax-free monthly of P25,000.