RISING oil prices have renewed calls for a measure to raise the income tax exemption threshold and increase Filipino workers’ take-home pay, a senator said on Sunday.
The latest round of oil price hikes is putting further pressure on Filipino’s purchasing power, Senate President Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement.
Continued conflicts in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war increased crude oil and diesel prices, the Department of Energy reported on Sept. 22. Oil companies adjusted prices for gasoline to P4.88 per liter (L) from P4.80/L, diesel to P8.82/L from P8.80/L, and to P6.47/L from P6.40/L for kerosene, the agency added.
Senate Bill No. 56, or the GINHAWA Act, would ease ordinary workers’ financial burdens by raising the income tax exemption threshold to P400,000 in annual income from P250,000, Mr. Gatchalian said.
Under the measure, the cap on tax-free bonuses will also be increased to P150,000 from P90,000.
“If the conflict in the Middle East continues, we need to speed up the realization of GINHAWA because the high prices of crude oil will further weaken,” Mr. Gatchalian said in a statement. — Francessca S. Abalos