More than half of National Food Authority (NFA) employees will benefit from the implementation of Republic Act No. 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) which was signed into law on December 19, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte and will be implemented this year.
NFA EMPLOYEES TO BENEFIT FROM TRAIN LAW
More than half of National Food Authority (NFA) employees will benefit from the implementation of Republic Act No. 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) which was signed into law on December 19, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte and will be implemented this year.
According to NFA Administrator Jason Aquino, 2,402 or almost 57% of NFA employees nationwide are now exempted from paying personal income tax under the new tax law.
“There are 1,545 NFA employees nationwide under salary grades 7-11 who will now be tax-exempt, in addition to the 847 employees who were already exempted under the old tax scheme,” Aquino said.
Under the old tax law, those receiving P15,000 monthly, and below, or those with salary grade 6 and lower were exempted from paying personal income tax.
Under the TRAIN law, the threshold for exemption was raised and employees earning an annual income of P250,000 and below will now be exempted from paying personal income tax, compared to just P180,000 in the previous years.
“The 1,545 employees who are now exempted from paying personal income tax will have P1,541 - P2,728 additional monthly take-home pay for being tax-exempt,” Aquino said.
Furthermore, employees earning P250,000 or more annually will also benefit from the tax reform by paying less tax. Based on NFA record, there are more than 1,828 employees who earn more than P250,000 annual income.
“Even these employees who will still be taxed will also benefit from the new law with additional net take home pay because of reduced tax. In total, almost 80% or 3,373 out of the 4,230 NFA employees nationwide will benefit from the tax reform with additional take home pay,” Aquino added.
Based on the new tax calculator, employees with salary grade 12 or those receiving P22,149 monthly income will earn additional P3,142 monthly from tax adjustment. The figure increases as the salary grade goes higher and can go up to P8,067 monthly tax savings for executives with Salary Grade 30.
“The benefits of NFA employees from the TRAIN law will be more emphasized especially with the implementation of the third tranche of the salary increase for government employees which NFA was able to finally implement in the agency after the President issued EO 36 in July last year,” Aquino said.
With these reforms, Administrator Aquino believes that the benefits employees are receiving from the present administration will translate to better services to the people.
“We have to do our part and prove that we in the government service deserve all these, not only by supporting the programs of President Duterte, but also by giving back to the people through our best services, especially to our clients, the farmers and consumers,” Aquino said.
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chad/ 01 09 2018
