Lower taxes for calamity victims sought

MANILA, Philippines - A lawmaker wants to grant a tax relief for at least three years to victims of calamities such as Super Typhoon Yolanda and the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Bohol.

House Bill 3370 seeks to give certain victims of disasters a deduction from their tax liabilities within a specific period to speed up rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts.

"While taxes are the lifeblood of the government and while it depends upon taxation to serve the people for whose benefit taxes are collected, the State, for humanitarian reasons and as parens patriae, should grant these tax reliefs," said Quezon Fourth District Representative Angelina Tan, the bill's author.

Under the proposed measure, individuals whose properties were lost, totally or partially destroyed by typhoon, earthquake, volcanic eruption or similar natural calamities shall be allowed to deduct the total amount of the loss or destruction from his or its income and real property tax liabilities up to a period of three years from the time of the loss or destruction.

Properties refer to residential lands and buildings, commercial and industrial buildings, agricultural lands together with the plants and growing trees and installed machinery intended for an industry or business.

Tan cited a World Bank study in 2005 which identified the Philippines as among the countries where a large percentage of population reside in disaster prone areas.

She added that the Philippines is the third most disaster risk country worldwide based on the 2011 World Bank Risk Report published by the United Nations.

Tan said figures between 1997 and 2007 showed that 84 tropical storms entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility, resulting to a total death toll of 13,155 and more than 51 million families affected.

Just this week, parts of Mindanao commemorated the onslaught of Typhoon Pablo, which pounded Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley and killed over 1,000 people.

Last month, Super Typhoon Yolanda slammed into the country and devastated several areas in Eastern Visayas.

A total of 5,786 people have been killed while over 1,700 remain missing.

More than 11 million people were affected including four million who were displaced by the monster typhoon's tsunami-like storm surges and record winds.

Over 1.2 million houses were damaged.

Last October, a magnitude 7.2 quake jolted Bohol and other areas in the Visayas, killing more than 200 people while damaging houses, public structures, centuries-old churches and even the famous Chocolate Hills.