AnaKalusugan Rep. Ray T. Reyes added voice to the growing clamor for more funds for health services by urging the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to lower its documentary stamp tax (DST) on lottery tickets and horse-racing bets by 10 percent.
“The reduction in the documentary stamp tax rates of PCSO means huge savings that could be allotted instead to health-centric programs directly aimed at aiding the poor such as medical assistance, purchase of ambulances for lower class municipalities, medicines for local government units, and medical equipment, as well as budget for hospital fees of indigent patients,” Reyes, vice chair of the House Committee on Health, said.
Reyes made the call after PCSO chairman Junie Cua appealed to lawmakers during a hearing of the House appropriations committee to support his request for the reduction of documentary tax payments as the current rate prohibits the charitable agency from allocating more funds for treatment and hospitalization of Filipinos living below the poverty line. At present, PCSO is charged 20 percent in documentary stamp taxes.
Reyes said a reduction in the DST to ten percent would contribute an additional P4 billion to thr PCSO charity fund for medical assistance.
Citing data from the PCSO, Reyes noted that while PCSO’s charity fund reached P18.3 billion last year, 67 percent, or P12.2 billion, went to DST.
“In our congressional hearings, we discovered that a considerable portion of PCSO’s charity fund is consumed by DST,” he remarked. “As a result, only an estimated 11 percent, or P2 billion, was allocated to the medical access program last year.”
The lawmaker said that for 2024, the PCSO is estimating that P14 billion will be spent on DST and only P1.68 billion will be used for beneficiaries of the PCSO’s Medical Assistance Program.
“This is why we are proposing a tax reduction. Once approved, we expect an additional P3 billion will be added to the program, giving it a total of P4.9 billion,” Reyes added.