Agri party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee has filed a measure to provide additional tax incentives on gifts and donations to accredited farmers and fisherfolk enterprises.
Lee filed House Bill No. 2418 which seeks to amend Section 12 of the “Sagip Saka Act” to encourage the private sector to help and support agricultural workers.
“Considering the present need to increase support to agribusinesses with the unprecedented challenges they face, this measure seeks to further encourage the private sector to donate to accredited farmers and fisherfolk enterprises under the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Program by declaring that donors of real and personal properties to these enterprises, in addition to being exempted from the payment of donor’s tax, shall be permitted to claim those donations as allowable deductions from the gross income,” Lee said.
“To convince them further to help and donate, the allowable deductions on the gross income shall be made equivalent to one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the value of the donation which shall be based on the acquisition cost, fair market value, or zonal value, whichever is higher,” he added.
Partnership can be done through marketing contracts, technology transfer, financial and organizational capability enhancement, and donation of equipment, and other real or personal properties to the accredited farmers and fisherfolk enterprises.
The creation of the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program integrates the different programs of the Department of Agriculture to support farmers and fisherfolk cooperatives and enterprises, optimize their business operations, and provide them with more opportunities for markets and product development.
According to Lee, the proposed measure will provide much needed support to deserving accredited farmers and fisherfolk enterprises that have undergone strict selection criteria under the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program.
“If we incentivize the private sector to help farmers and fisherfolk enterprises, there will be a wider support base to help them increase production and revenues,” Lee said.
“This will redound to the benefit of all our kababayan as enough supply of accessible and cheap produce is crucial to attaining food security,” he added.