DOF urged to remove DST on remittances

In the wake of the devastation inflicted by tropical cyclones “Ondoy" and “Pepeng" on the Philippines, a lawmaker has urged the Department of Finance (DOF) to remove the documentary stamp tax on the remittances of overseas Filipinos. “In view of the latest calamity, we ask the (DOF), through the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to defer the imposition and collection of taxes imposed on OFW’s remittances," Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said in a statement released Tuesday.

Enrile said the remittances of Filipinos abroad are charged with a stamp tax of P0.30 for every P200 sent to the country, as required in the Tax Reform Act of 1997. Removal of the DST, he said, would alleviate the lives and ease some of the financial burden of the victims of the typhoons. The senate president added that the possible revenue loss from the DST can be compensated by the influx of foreign currency from Filipinos abroad who would choose to send money home through the legal channels. In 2008, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recorded tan all-time high overseas Filipino remittances of $16.43 billion. An estimated 8-9 million Filipinos, migrants and contract worker, and their dependents, are abroad. Tens of thousands more are joining the swelling ranks in search of better-paying jobs. Last year alone, a total of 1,376,823 Filipino workers were deployed abroad, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said. Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves clarified that foreign and overseas Filipino donors and recipient organizations are not charged any taxes and duties for their relief donations as long as they are accredited and registered with the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD). “Please inform us right away if anybody from the Bureau of Customs asked for any tax and duty payment on these imported relief goods from any organization," he said in a statement. There’s still hope Last May, Senator Panfilo Lacson also sought to ease the burden of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) by exempting them from the DST. Lacson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, filed Senate Bill 3255 which would exempt money transfers to the Philippines from OFWs from the DST. “In recognition and solicitation of the OFWs' sustained contribution to the economic growth of our country particularly during these difficult times, immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought," he said. Under the bill, an OFW can be exempt from paying the DST only if he or she is “duly registered with the (POEA)." The bill also stipulates that the OFW sending the money transfer must present a government-issued document as evidence of his or her being an OFW. Enrile said the bill was recommended by the BSP, National Tax Research Center, the Commission on Filipino Overseas, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. “The Committee on Ways and Means is ready to report out the bills upon receipt of its house bill counterpart, as mandated under Section 24, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution," he said. - GMANews.TV