Exemptions pushed for taxpayers caring for parents

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Ralph Recto is pushing for the passage of a measure that will provide tax exemptions for individual taxpayers who care for their ailing parents or tend to persons with disabilities.

Recto has filed Senate Bill 257 or the Family Care Act of 2013 to strengthen families by extending tax reprieve to those who have dependent parents or wards.

He said the bill seeks to remove the limitation on the number of dependents that an individual may claim as tax exemptions. The bill allows the inclusion, under certain circumstances, of parents and wards.

“I find difficulty in accepting that a taxpayer caring for an ailing parent finds no relief in our tax laws. We can claim tax exemptions for healthy children, why not for parents who are sick,” the senator said.

Aside from expanding the definition of qualified dependents under tax laws, the proposed measure also seeks to remove the limitation on how many dependents a taxpayer can declare to apply for tax exemptions.

At present, Recto said a maximum of only four qualified dependents may be claimed by qualified taxpayers as additional exemption at P25,000 per dependent.

“The same goes for an individual looking after a person with physical or mental disability. It is in this area of tax law that we find an evident discord between the status quo and what is necessary given the present realities,” he added.

The measure expands the coverage of qualified dependents to include parent or both parents with the following conditions: the parent or parents should not be employed, they should be living with the taxpayer and dependent upon the taxpayer for chief support, or they are incapable of self-support because of mental or physical disability.