PAMPANGA Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has pushed for tax relief for victims of calamities as she lamented bureaucratic glitches that hamper the steady flow of donations in times of calamities.
In filing House Bill 4373, Arroyo, a deputy speaker, said donations for calamity victims have been hampered by bureaucratic red tape, such as subjecting donors to hefty donor’s tax.
Arroyo, a former president, said those who would seek an exemption to the payment of donor’s tax through charitable organizations face the stringent accreditation process to get their exemption on the top of the requirements they need to submit to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Under the law, Arroyo said the donors also have to submit paperwork to the BIR for audit procedures. Compounding the problem is the fact that not all organizations with relief operations are accredited charitable organizations.
“The display of camaraderie and empathy by ordinary citizens who risked their lives to save strangers was a common scene [during times of calamities]. Even hard-earned savings were given freely to charitable organizations to augment relief operations and to serve more of those affected,” Arroyo said. “This display of heroism and gallantry, however, also brought into the limelight a few bureaucratic glitches that impeded the steady flow of donations,” he said.
To address the problem, Arroyo proposed in her bill that in areas where a state of calamity had been declared, donations to victims of this area should be tax exempt.
“The objective of the bill is to address all these concerns by allowing tax exemption of donations as long as a state of calamity is declared by the proper Sanggunian and regardless of the nature of business of the donee organization so as not to hamper funds from coming in,” Arroyo said.
Aside from donor’s tax, residents in the area will also be exempt from paying real estate taxes for two years from the declaration of a state of calamity.
“The real property tax in the affected areas shall not be assessed and collected for two fiscal years, starting from the date of declaration of the state of calamity,” Arroyo said.