Gov’t reviewing tax holiday proposal

Malacañang has yet to comment on the proposed bill filed by Senator Erwin Tulfo which, if passed into law, would grant a one-month income tax holiday for Filipino workers.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA) Secretary Frederick Go said on Thursday the measure needs to be studied by the relevant government agencies such as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Finance (DoF).

“This is new to us, so it needs to be studied by the Department of Finance and the DBM,” he said.

As for boosting public confidence with a tax holiday, Go balked at giving an outright response.

“This really has to be studied carefully. I would hesitate to make a response that’s probably not very well thought out,” he said.

The proposed measure, Senate Bill 1446, the One-Month Tax Holiday of 2025, seeks to provide direct financial relief to Filipino workers.

Under the proposed measure, individual taxpayers earning compensation income would be granted a one-time, one-month exemption from paying income tax.

The tax holiday would take effect starting the first payroll month immediately after the bill’s enactment.

For mixed-income earners, the exemption would cover only the compensation income portion and not include mandatory contributions to the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG Fund, as well as loan amortizations and other deductions voluntarily authorized by the employee.