Congress ratifies VAT exemption bill for senior citizens

Senior citizens will soon be able to enjoy their 20 percent discount after the Senate and House of Representatives ratified Wednesday night the proposed “Expanded Senior Citizens Act" exempting them from paying the 12 percent value added tax. After the ratification, only the signature of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is needed for it to be a law and be implemented. "This is our early Valentine's gift for our senior citizens all over the country so they have an easier access to the best things in life," House Speaker Prospero Nograles said. The VAT exemption will apply to the medicines and essential medical supplies, accessories and equipment; fees of attending physicians; medical, dental fees and diagnostic and laboratory fees; fares for buses, jeepneys, taxis, AUVs, shuttle services, public railways, domestic air transport and other vessels. It will also be applied when a senior citizen utilizes services in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments; admission fees in cinemas, theaters and other places of culture, leisure and amusement; and funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens. Also under the bill, indigent senior citizens will be given a monthly stipend of P500 which will be subject to the periodic review of Congress in coordination with the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD). In case of death of an indigent senior citizen, an amount of P2,000 will also be awarded to his or her nearest kin as death benefit assistance. In addition, senior citizens may also enjoy a five percent discount on their water and electric bills on the condition that the utilities are named under the senior citizen residing in the household, and that the consumption for electricity and water should be below 100 kilowatt-hours and 30 cubic meters per month, respectively. The measure likewise expands the coverage of penalties for establishments that refuse to grant the mandated benefits. Violating establishments including their owners, managers and personnel may be fined a penalty of not less than P10,000 but not more than P50,000, or imprisonment of not less than a month but not more than six months. - Amita Legaspi and Johanna Camille Sisante/RSJ, GMANews.TV