A committee in the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that seeks to exempt senior citizens from paying income taxes.
The House Committee on Senior Citizens approved House Bill 8832 or the
Income Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens Act that provides senior citizens, or individuals aged at least 60, who are still employed are exempted from the payment of income tax.
The bill also proposes that the holiday, overtime pay, night shift differential, and hazard pays received by senior citizens who are still employed are also exempt from income tax.
Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes of the Senior Citizens party-list group said the measure he authored, once enacted, shall increase the savings of senior citizens in preparation for their retirement.
“Filipino retirees have limited savings for their retirement,” he said, citing information from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas placing the retirement savings value at “only 3.6 months’ worth of income.”
The House-approved bill will soon be submitted to the plenary for action.