by jeyzsonic | Jun 18, 2008 | Features
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law exempting minimum wage earners from paying income tax and also increasing the personal exemptions for other employees.
The President signed Republic Act 9504 or “An Act Amending Sections 22,24,34,35 and 79 of Republic Act 8424,as Amended, otherwise known as the National Internal Revenue Code of 1987,”.
The President, who for several times urged Congress to pass this urgent bill that would help ease the impact of continuing rise in oil and food prices on the people, was visibly pleased.
The new law stands to provide relief and additional money to spend for basic necessities especially for the minimum wage earners.
The new law also exempts from tax all holiday, night differential, hazard and overtime pay received by minimum wage earners.
The new law also increases personal exemptions for individual tax payers and additional deduction for qualified dependents.
The personal exemptions are as follows: for single: from P20,000 to P50,000; for head of family: from P25,000 to P50,000; for married: from P32,000 to P50,000; for each qualified dependent not exceeding 4: from P8,000 to P25,000.
A family of six, with two working spouses and four dependent children used to enjoy total exemptions of P96,000. With the new law, the total amount of exemptions would be P200,000.
Meanwhile, government may loss P11.09 billion in revenue income due to tax exemption of minimum wage earners, but could recover tax revenue losses through the imposition of optional standard deductions (OSD) in filing business income tax returns, said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves. (PIA/Bohol)
by jeyzsonic | Jun 18, 2008 | Features
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is closely monitoring the unemployment situation nationwide as it initiates mitigating measures to counter the weakening of the labor market brought about by increasing fuel prices.
The directive was based on the 2008 April Labor Force Survey results of the National Statistics Office (NSO), said Malacañang Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo.
According to Fajardo, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque directed all DOLE regional offices to closely monitor the unemployment situation in their respective areas of jurisdiction and to initiate interventions and safety nets.
Several mitigating measures include continuing employment facilitation program for local and overseas placement; jobs fair; jobs availability through the Internet at fieldjob.net; special program for employment of students during summer and semestral and Christmas breaks; the “Tulay” Tulong Alalay sa Mga Taong May Kapansanan program; capacity building services for livelihood (rural worker for self-employment); and for the informal sector, the DOLE adjustment measures program (for displaced workers or those for training /retraining), Fajardo added. (PIA/Bohol)
by jeyzsonic | Jun 18, 2008 | Features
SUKWAHI sa pahayag ni Sen. Aqulino Pimentel, dili ilegal ang paghatag sa P500 nga subsidy alang sa koryente, kini pamahayag ni Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr.
Matud niya, mahimo sa kagamhaan nga gamiton ang P114-billion nga wala ma program nga pundo sa 2008 General Appropriations Act (GAA) kay kini may “standby appropriation” nga may “natigum nga pundo alang sa natumbok nga katuyuan”.
Una na nga gipahayag ni opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel nga ang P500 power subsidy, illegal kay wala kini itagana sa Kongreso alang sa maong katuyuan.
Patin-aw ni Andaya, ang pundo mahimo nga a-buhian kon ang revenues mosobra sa gibanabana nga makobra nga buhisan subay sa Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing.
Dugang ni Andaya, ang unprogrammed funds lakip na sa budget nga gisubmitir sa Presidente ngadto sa Kongreso ug kini gihimong balaod isip kabahin sa GAA alang sa tuig.
Sa pagtaas sa presyo sa lana, ang value added tax (VAT) niini mitaas usab, hinungdan nga mitaas usab ang mahipos sa kagamhanan niini, padayag niya.
Gisalikway usab niya ang sugyot ga ang Executive mohimo na sa yano nga line item budgeting, diin ang mga tagsatagsa ka financial statements tipoon sa ilang mga departamento na lamang.
Ang giingong nga yano nga budgeting, ni Andaya pa, maoy makaparalisar sa kagamhanan tungod kay dili kini dayon maka-aksyon kon may kinahanglang aksyon, ilabi na kon wala masubay sa budget.
Ang line budgeting nga maoy uso kaniadto, dali nga magpakita sa kalainan sa mga milabay nga budgeting ug accounting periods, ug magpasayon sa basehan sa gastohan sa kasamtangan ug sa umaabot nga mga panahon.
Kini usab magpugong sa mga opisyales sa kagamhanan sa paghulbot ug pundo nga magamit sa emerhensya sama sa nahitabo karon sa krisis sa kalibutan. (rachiu/PIA)
by jeyzsonic | Jun 17, 2008 | National News
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered Department of Trade (DTI) Secretary Peter Favila to open a dialogue with different businessmen and manufacturers. This is in order to discuss their concerns relative to rising cost of their manufacturing or production of goods.
According to Press Undersecretary and deputy spokesperson Anthony Golez, “the government is willing to support the urgent needs of the business sector in order to cushion the passing of their production cost immediately to our consumers.”
“We assure the public that government is doing everything it can to mitigate the effects of rising prices of basic commodities,” Golez said. (PIA/Bohol)
by jeyzsonic | Jun 17, 2008 | National News
Former Presidential Adviser Secretary Jesus Dureza assumed his new post as Press Secretary, taking the place of Ignacio R. Bunye.
Bunye held the post of press secretary for five years in a concurrent capacity as presidential spokesman. He is set to join the Monetary Board (MB) early next month.
A lawyer by profession, Dureza was a 10th placer in the bar examinations and has been the editor-in-chief of Mindanao Times and a correspondent of Manila Times and Manila Bulletin for almost 15 years.
In the 1987 elections, he won as congressman for the first district of Davao province and served as spokesperson of then President Fidel V. Ramos in 1999-2000.
Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had tapped Dureza as “development champion” for her super regions economic development plan for Mindanao and for his active advocacy for peace.
In earlier interviews Dureza stressed that there would be no major revamp at the office of the press secretary, and that he would bring Malacanang closer to the provincial press and the masses.
He also vowed to enlist media’s support as partners for effective governance. (PIA/Bohol)
