This 6th and latest edition of STSRO’s Primer serves as a guide for incoming Senators of the 19th Congress, in particular, and to their legislative and technical staff, in general. 

Starting January 1, 2018, compensation income earners, self-employed and professional taxpayers (SEPs) whose annual taxable incomes are P250,000 or less are exempt from the personal income tax (PIT).

Fiscal incentives are subsidies, tax reliefs and preferential tax treatment that are usually given to registered enterprises and priority sectors to promote and encourage investments and development. (download)

Instituting Progressive Tax Reform and More Effective Tax Collection, Indexing Taxes to Inflation (download)

The power of taxation is an inherent and plenary prerogative of the State, its exercise being only limited by the Bill of Rights enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution (download)

Commemorating Senate Tax Study and Research Office's 26th Founding Anniversary (download)

Materials for the 2014 Second Meeting of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (COCCTRP) (download)

Letter of BIR Commissioner Henares to the COCCTRP dated 12 November 2014 (download)

EOPT Law: Taxpayers’ first win for 2024
January 2024 (1.7 MB)

Tax legislation started on a high note for the new year as the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act was finally enacted into law. This priority measure was signed into law as Republic Act No. (RA) 11976 by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos on January 5, 2024.

Congressional Oversight: Putting a Premium on Quality Laws
March - April 2023 (4 MB)

Legislative oversight functions are essential components of checks and balances in a democracy. Checks and balances is a system of separation of powers among the three branches of government - the legislative, executive, and judicial branches - with each branch having distinct powers and functions in “checking” and “balancing” each other.

Scanning The Horizon: A Survey of President BBM’s First Year Legislative Agenda
January - February 2023 (6.3 MB)

Eight months in as our Chief Executive, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. (PBBM) is set to enact, together with Congress, key legislative measures on public-private partnerships, armed forces modernization, public health development, continuing benefits in agrarian reform, digitalization of transactions, macroeconomic stability, and regional free trade by June 2023.

ON TRACK: The Chairperson Moves to Fulfill His Promises
November - December 2022 (4.6 MB)

With the 19th Congress now in full swing, the Committee on Ways and Means (Committee) has gone all out in its work to accomplish Senator Win Gatchalian’s promise of putting taxpayers first.

Senator Win: Taxpayer’s Advocate Extraordinaire
September - October 2022 (4 MB)

In recent years, including those that straddle the passage of Republic Act No. 8424 or the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, the Philippine Congress has consistently enacted laws that upheld and enhanced the power of the government to impose taxes.

LUCKY NUMBER 7: Navigating Tax Measures with a WIN-ning Perspective
July - August 2022 (6 MB)

The Tax Forum Series by the Senate Tax Study and Research Office (STSRO) was relaunched after almost a two-year hiatus with the conduct of its 7th Tax Forum on 20 July 2022.

Tax Laws enacted in the 18th Congress
May - June 2022 (4.6 MB)

As the curtain falls for the eighteenth (18th) Congress, let’s take a look at the legislative milestones of the Committee on Ways and Means, headed by our Chairperson, Senator Pia S. Cayetano.

Honoraria and Allowances of Poll Workers: To Tax or Not to Tax?
March - April 2022 (3.8 MB)

The May 9, 2022 national and local elections have aroused great interest and participation among Filipinos as the electorate trooped to their respective poll precincts to decide who our leaders will be for the next six and three years, respectively.

Tax Laws Enacted During the Duterte Administration and the Role of STSRO in the Law-making Process
January - February 2022 (4.1 MB)

Tax reform has been one of the centerpieces of the Duterte administration’s economic reform pro-gram. It started during the campaign period in the 2016 Presidential election when then Davao City Mayor Duterte promised to exempt from paying in-come tax workers earning Php 20,000 and below.

The Philippines’ ODA in the Time of COVID-19: A Situationer
November - December 2021 (5.4 MB)

We breezed through 2019 and 2020 doing our best to survive a global pandemic. While we were all locked down in our own homes, we witnessed things that we only see on films, i.e. total shutdown of intra-national and international borders; indefinite closure of offices and businesses; stranded commuters begging for food and ride; panic buying of essential goods and disinfectants; and medical workers in Hazmat-like suit.

Congress Gives Reprieve to Private Schools
September - October 2021 (6.3 MB)

On September 27, 2021 the Senate of the Philippines, in a unanimous vote of 23-0-0, approved on Third Reading Senate Bill No. 2407 under Com-mittee Report No. 311. The bill seeks to reiterate the legislative intent that proprietary educational institu-tions are subject to the preferential rate of 10-percent corporate income tax, and that this rate is temporarily reduced to 1-percent for the period July 1, 2020 up to June 30, 2023 under RA 11534 or the CREATE law.

Go for Gold! Indeed, as Government runs after incentive donors
July - August 2021 (3.5 MB)

The Philippines made its most impressive finish so far via the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 held in Ja-pan from July 23 to August 8, 2021 courtesy of Hidi-lyn Diaz’s gold, Nesthy Petecio’s silver, Carlo Paalam’s silver, and Eumir Marcial’s bronze medals. The gold medal won by Hidilyn Diaz in the 55-kilogram women’s weightlifting category even has a historical significance since it is the first gold haul since the Philippines participated in the Olympics in 1924.

Herederos get a new lease of life President Duterte extends estate tax amnesty
May - June 2021 (5.4 MB)

When Congress passed what became Republic Act 11213, otherwise known as the Tax Amnesty Act, it declared as a State Policy to provide a one-time opportunity to settle estate tax obligations through an estate tax amnesty program that will give reasonable tax relief to estates with deficiency estate taxes.

The Passage of the CREATE Law: The End of a Long and Winding Journey
March - April 2021 (4.5 MB)

During the 10th Congress (1995-1998), House Bill No. 4935 or “The Investments and Incentives Code” was filed in the House of Representatives. The measure – introduced in 1995 and regarded as the first ever fiscal incentives reform bill – was re-filed every year thereafter.

PHILIPPINE BUSINESS TAXES AMID COVID-19
January - February 2021 (6 MB)

The outbreak of COVID-19 took the world by surprise. To borrow the title of a famous movie franchise, the virus was so fast and furious that even the advanced economies are crippled and the response was tamer than the raging devastation.

NO HODGEPODGE PLEASE: The One Subject One Title Rule and the CREATE Bill
October - December 2020 (4.98 MB)

The 1987 Philippine Constitution has laid down certain limitations on the legislative department insofar as the crafting of bills or proposed measures are concerned. In terms of bills on taxation, some of the well-established applicable rules are the origination rule, the rule of uniformity and equitability, progressivity, and the one subject one title rule.

Taxation, Incentives, and Other Related Regulations on Health Care and Charitable Institutions
August - September 2020 (4.5 MB)

Section 4(o)(1) of RA No. 7875 (National Health Insurance Act of 1995, as amended by RA No. 10606), provides that a licensed and accredited health care institution is one that is devoted primarily to the maintenance and operation of facilities for health promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of individuals suffering from illness, disease, injury, disability, or deformity, or in need of obstetrical or other medical and nursing care.

Let's CREATE that our people may live
June - July 2020 (4.6 MB)

Much of the modern world have been caught off guard by the advent of Covid-19 and the speed by which it has wrought havoc on all imaginable facets of national and local life. In the Philippines, the past 122 days of varying types and intensities of community quarantines have left a hefty price tag on the economy, socio-cultural health, and even political temper.