Press Release
July 6, 2020

Tolentino wants reasonable deduction in tax payment during this period of pandemic

Administration Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino plans to propose that additional expenses incurred by work-from-home employees, particularly on electricity consumption, can be considered as deductible expense in tax payment.

Tolentino expressed his intention to file a corresponding measure during the hearing of the Committee on Energy on the electric power industry amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

"Ito pong ginastos ng ating mga nagtatrabaho sa bahay, pwedeng ikarga bilang deductible expense sa pagbabayad ng buwis dahil po nabawasan ang gastos ng kanilang pinapasukan," said Tolentino.

"Hindi na sila nagtatrabaho doon sa opisina nila, hindi kumo-konsumo ng aircon at kuryente. Dahil nagtatrabaho sila sa bahay, nadagdagan ang kanilang gastusin sa kuryente," he added.

Tolentino said that he and Energy Committee chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian will file a bill seeking to amend the National Internal Revenue Code to provide a reasonable deduction on gross income of any taxpayer who has incurred additional electricity consumption while working at home.

"Because he was able to produce something for the government office or for a private employer, he is entitled to some tax relief," Tolentino said.

Earlier, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said that electricity consumption went up by 30 percent during the quarantine period.

Meanwhile, Tolentino asked the Meralco to make its messaging clearer and simpler for the consumer to understand amid the confusion regarding its monthly billing during the lockdown period.

"Napakahaba ng paliwanag ng Meralco, kahit ako hindi ko maintindihan. Nakadagdag pa sa kalituhan iyong kanilang advertisement sa diyaryo," said Tolentino.

"Hindi ba kayang gawing simple ang paliwanag ng Meralco para mas maintindihan ng tao ang kailangan nilang bayaran?" he added.

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