Tax exemption sought for donated COVID-19 vaccines, other supplies
A SENATOR is seeking to exempt donated vaccines and other medical supplies used for the coronavirus response from donor’s tax. Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara filed Senate Bill No. 2046, which proposes the tax holiday to be in effect starting this year to 2023. “In order to bolster the supply of vaccines, this bill makes it easier to accept donations of critical products, essential goods, equipment or supplies needed to contain and mitigate COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), including the vaccines, by exempting these from donor’s tax for a definite period, subject to certain conditionalities,” Mr. Angara said in his explanatory note. The measure covers raw materials for personal protective equipment (PPE), all drugs, vaccines medical devices for treatment, equipment for waste management and other supplies as well as equipment as determined by the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The donated material “shall not be intended for commercial use and shall be for free distribution to or use for the containment or mitigation of COVID-19,” the bill states. The donations will be subject to post audit by the Bureau of Internal Revenue or the Bureau of Customs, rules of deductibility under the National Internal Revenue Code and applicable rules and issuances of the BIR, it read. —