Proposed tax holiday needs review

MALACAÑANG said it needs to carefully review Senator Erwin T. Tulfo’s proposal to grant a one-month income tax holiday, citing the measure’s potential fiscal implications.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick D. Go said on Thursday that the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) must first evaluate the fiscal and budgetary impact of the proposal before the Palace can make a stand.

“This is quite a big matter,” he told reporters in mixed English and Filipino during a Palace briefing on Thursday. “It’s best to give the DoF and DBM time to carefully study this proposal.”

Mr. Tulfo’s Senate Bill No. 1446, the proposed One-Month Tax Holiday of 2025, seeks to provide direct financial relief to Filipino workers by exempting individual taxpayers’ compensation income from tax for one month.

The exemption would take effect on the first payroll period following the bill’s approval.

For mixed-income earners, the relief would cover only the portion of income derived from employment.

Mandatory contributions to the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and Pag-IBIG Fund — as well as loan amortizations and other voluntary deductions — would not be covered by the exemption. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana