New BIR rules to boost urban poor housing, says NHMFC

The new implementing rules recently issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on the grant of tax exemptions from the payment of capital gains tax on lands purchased by informal settlers for housing under the government’s Community Mortgage Program (CMP), will be a big boost to home acquisition by the urban poor.

This is according to Lawyer Angelico T. Salud, president of National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) and administrator of CMP, the government’s home financing program for informal settlers.

Salud cited BIR revenue regulation (RR) 3-2001 which has decentralized the authority to BIR regional directors in the issuance of tax exemption certificates on the payment of capital gains tax on lands acquired for financing under CMP.

Also delegated is the grant of tax exemption to the National Housing Authority and to private sector participants in socialized housing, as implemented by BIR RR no. 9-93, as amended by RR 11-97, Salud informed.

The new scheme is among the policy initiatives resulting from the on-going program coordination between Secretary Michael T. Defensor, presidential housing adviser and chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, and BIR Commissioner Rene G. Bañez aimed at refocusing and expediting the delivery of housing services to the informal sector, according to Salud.

He pointed out that in the past, loan availments under CMP by the informal settlers were hampered by the lag time in the issuance of tax exemption certificates for urban poor housing sites, which affected the transfer of titles on said lands to housing associations of informal settlers.

"Through the leadership of Defensor, the government housing agencies are also coordinating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Department of Interior and Local Government; local government units; Register of Deeds and other agencies in adopting measures that would further facilitate the grant and processing of CMP loans," Salud said.

The government has adopted CMP as a major financing program for the provision of security of tenure for the informal housing sector, he added.