Loren seeks tax break for unemployed wives

Each family with a housewife should be granted an income tax deduction of P20,00 in recognition of the housewife's role in the country's economic growth, Sen. Loren Legarda said yesterday.

"A more meaningful tax relief for housewives would recognize the value of domestic labor and its contribution to the economy," she said.

The P20,000 is P12,000 higher than the deduction allowed for each qualified dependent child, but P16,000 lower than the P36,000 deduction for a working spouse.

Legarda lamented that domestic work has been traditionally taken for granted, and considered without value to the economy.

"The efforts of housemaids, cooks, laundry women, gardeners and other domestic workers are all rewarded with wages. The roles of housewives encompass the work of all these domestic laborers and more. And yet housewives are not adequately rewarded," she pointed out.

She added that the employed members of the family cannot function effectively if there is no one at home to take care of the other members of their family and of the workers' meals and other needs.