House to adopt Senate version of bonus tax bill

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives will adopt the Senate version of the bill exempting Christmas bonuses from income tax to speed up the approval of the measure, leaders of the chamber said yesterday.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales Jr. said the Senate’s ceiling of P82,000 in Christmas or yearend bonus that is exempt from income tax.

The House’s version has a ceiling of only P70,000, an amount that Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo, principal author of the bill and chairman of the House ways and means committee, said was a product of careful study and extensive consultations.

“I’ll agree with the Senate version but we may have to go into a quick bicam (bicameral conference committee) because the House version mandates that it will be effectively immediately or this year,” Quimbo said.

Gonzalez said the House will go through the two versions to make sure there no more conflicting provisions so that the measure can be immediately ratified and sent to President Aquino for signing. – With Tina Mendez