THE Bureau of Internal Revenue has spoken: Hidilyn Diaz' windfall of rewards won't be subject to taxes.
The government agency issued the clarification on Thursday as the deluge of prizes given to the country's first ever Olympic gold medalist continues to swell.
"The P10 million cash incentive mandated under Republic Act No. 10699, shall be considered an exclusion from gross income by virtue of Section 32 (B)(7)(d) of the Tax Code," BIR said in a statement.
This P10 million the cash incentive mandated by the law for any athlete who capture gold medalist in the biggest sporting event in the world.
BIR continued, "The donations given to her by businesses, private individuals, and entities shall also be excluded from the computation of her gross income under Section 32 (B)(3) of the Tax Code."
As of the last Spin.ph count, Diaz' rewards (in terms of actual money, and not counting the other incentives like real estate and cars) are now running up to north of P40 million.
Among the biggest private contributions are coming from the pockets of San Miguel Corporation president and CEO Ramon S. Ang and First Pacific Company Limited CEO Manny V. Pangilinan, who pledged P10 million each.
That's not even counting the pledges of lifetime flights from Philippine Airlines and AirAsia, lifetime free fuel from Phoenix Petroleum, a P14 million condo unit from Megaworld, a pledged house and lot in Tagaytay courtesy of Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino, a 13-seater Transvan from Foton, a brand-new Kia Stonic, and a number of local establishments promising her a lifetime supply of free food.
Donor's tax still applies to Hidilyn Diaz rewards
BIR, though, clarified that it's now the donors who will have to pay a donor's tax, saying, "The latter, however, presupposes that the generous donors have already paid the donor's tax on these items."
"It's a good thing that the TRAIN Law has finally lowered the donor's tax rate to 6% in excess of P250,000. Otherwise, the maximum donor's tax would be P1,004,000 + 15% in excess of P10 million."
Spin columnist Mickey Ingles provides a more in-depth look in Diaz' tax situation in relation to these rewards.
Nonetheless, the BIR is one with the nation in congratulating the Filipina weightlifter in this accomplishment.
"We congratulate Hidilyn Diaz and the Philippine team, and we hope for the best for the Filipino athletes still in the running to earn their spot at the Olympic podium," the statement ended.
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