Imee: Extend tax relief for good Samaritans amid Covid-19 pandemic

Senator Imee Marcos has introduced a measure seeking to reward good Samaritans who emerged during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

Marcos' Senate Bill No. 1429 seeks to recognize the private sector's efforts in assisting the government through donations and fundraising initiatives.

The senator noted that a provision in the Republic Act No. 11469, otherwise known as the "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act", grants full tax benefits to the private sector - companies and individuals alike - that have donated to the government, non-government organizations (NGOs), hospitals and other medical facilities in the battle against Covid-19.

"This bill seeks to extend the same benefits to the 'good Samaritans' in the country who have tirelessly and selflessly donated their funds, skills, products and other resources to their fellow Filipinos in times of calamity, often in spite of physical and financial losses they themselves endured," she said.

Marcos said such acts of generosity should no longer be punished with the additional payment of donor's tax.

Under the bill, any individual who makes a donation to the government, Department of Health-accredited hospitals, local government unit (LGU) hospitals and other medical facilities and health clinics during a state of calamity shall be entitled to donor's tax exemption and income tax deduction.

If enacted into law, Marcos proposed that the measure be retroactive starting from January 2020 and onwards.