Teachers: Honoraria still subject to tax
Published May 12, 2018 02:23 pm
By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
Despite the appeal of Education Secretary Leonor Briones along with various groups, the honoraria and allowances of volunteer-teachers who will serve in the upcoming local elections will still be subjected to tax.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones
(JOHN JEROME GANZON / MANILA BULLETIN) In a press briefing led by key officials of the DepEd and Commission on Elections (Comelec) late afternoon Saturday, it was announced that the honoraria and allowances of teachers who will serve as members of the Electoral Board on May 14 for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will still be subjected to 5-percent withholding tax as per the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) ruling. However, those who can prove that their annual income is P250,000 and below will be exempted given that they submit the requirements needed by Comelec. “The TRAIN Law specifies that those with annual income below P250,000 will be tax exempt,” Briones said. She also noted that the BIR “has already issued a ruling.” After computations were made, she noted that the amount of tax that will be applied to the volunteer-teachers “will range from P300 to P350.” Briones assured that those who will be able to submit the affidavit required for tax exemption will be able to get the refund within 15 days. “In two weeks’ time, that will be returned once our teacher-volunteers submit and have their certification of salary grade verified,” she added. Citing a BIR ruling dated May 8, 2018, DepEd Assistant for Procurement Secretary Revsee Escobedo said those members of the Electoral Board – who are Teachers I and II – whose annual income is below P250,000 are exempted from tax provided that they “execute an affidavit prior to the release of the honorarium/allowances.” Tax refund Despite the imposition of tax for volunteer-teachers, DepEd and the Comelec assured that the qualified teachers for tax exemption will get a “timely and prompt refund.” Escobedo detailed how the tax refund will be facilitated wherein for Teachers I and II, the BIR requires teachers to “submit to the election officers a sworn declaration stating that they are employed as teacher with Salary Grade 11, depending on the step increment.” “They will submit these to the election officer who will validate, and if they are indeed exempted from tax, they will receive the balance within 15 days from May 14 – chairman of the electoral board’s rate will be subject to tax of P350 and members of the electoral board’s rate will be subject to tax of P300 – in compliance with the Tax Code and the recent TRAIN Law,” Escobedo added. Meanwhile, Comelec Education and Information Division deputy director Atty. Frances Aguindadao-Arabe confirmed the “timely return” of the deducted tax in cash and encouraged teacher-volunteers to submit their sworn declaration along with their poll report on election day. She further clarified that the “certification will be validated by the election officer and will not require notarization outside the polling precinct.” ‘Hands off our honorarium’ Earlier, teachers groups have been urging the BIR, Comelec, and the DepEd to “spare” their poll honorarium from tax. Around 300,000 DepEd teachers and volunteers are expected to serve in the 2018 local elections. The Electoral Board, which shall be comprised of a chairperson, a poll clerk and a member, per clustered precinct shall be responsible for the conduct of voting and counting for the barangay and SK elections; preparation of the Election Returns (ERs); announcement of results in the precinct; submission of ERs to the Board of Canvassers, if mono precinct, convert into Barangay Board of Canvassers (BBOC). Currently, the Election Service Reform Act of 2016 (ESRA) law provides for the following honoraria amount of P6,000 for chairperson of Electoral Boards; P5,000 for members of Electoral Boards; P4,000 for Department of Education supervisor officials (DESO); and P2,000 for support staff. The foregoing amounts are exclusive of an additional P1,000 travel allowance along with other benefits that include a minimum of five days service credit; legal indemnification package worth P50,000; medical assistance of up to P200,000; and election-related death benefit amounting to P500,000. For the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), the tax imposition of BIR is among the lingering concerns of teachers during the elections. The group even called on to President Duterte to “intervene and direct” the BIR not to tax their election service pay. “We challenge the sincerity of his earlier pronouncements that it is his objective to exempt low-salaried sectors from income tax,” the group said. For the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), performing election duties for teachers has always been life-threatening. “The past elections have witnessed how teachers are injured, harassed, threatened, accused, charged, wounded or even killed… therefore, the minimum honorarium should not be taxed at all,” the group ended.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones(JOHN JEROME GANZON / MANILA BULLETIN) In a press briefing led by key officials of the DepEd and Commission on Elections (Comelec) late afternoon Saturday, it was announced that the honoraria and allowances of teachers who will serve as members of the Electoral Board on May 14 for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will still be subjected to 5-percent withholding tax as per the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) ruling. However, those who can prove that their annual income is P250,000 and below will be exempted given that they submit the requirements needed by Comelec. “The TRAIN Law specifies that those with annual income below P250,000 will be tax exempt,” Briones said. She also noted that the BIR “has already issued a ruling.” After computations were made, she noted that the amount of tax that will be applied to the volunteer-teachers “will range from P300 to P350.” Briones assured that those who will be able to submit the affidavit required for tax exemption will be able to get the refund within 15 days. “In two weeks’ time, that will be returned once our teacher-volunteers submit and have their certification of salary grade verified,” she added. Citing a BIR ruling dated May 8, 2018, DepEd Assistant for Procurement Secretary Revsee Escobedo said those members of the Electoral Board – who are Teachers I and II – whose annual income is below P250,000 are exempted from tax provided that they “execute an affidavit prior to the release of the honorarium/allowances.” Tax refund Despite the imposition of tax for volunteer-teachers, DepEd and the Comelec assured that the qualified teachers for tax exemption will get a “timely and prompt refund.” Escobedo detailed how the tax refund will be facilitated wherein for Teachers I and II, the BIR requires teachers to “submit to the election officers a sworn declaration stating that they are employed as teacher with Salary Grade 11, depending on the step increment.” “They will submit these to the election officer who will validate, and if they are indeed exempted from tax, they will receive the balance within 15 days from May 14 – chairman of the electoral board’s rate will be subject to tax of P350 and members of the electoral board’s rate will be subject to tax of P300 – in compliance with the Tax Code and the recent TRAIN Law,” Escobedo added. Meanwhile, Comelec Education and Information Division deputy director Atty. Frances Aguindadao-Arabe confirmed the “timely return” of the deducted tax in cash and encouraged teacher-volunteers to submit their sworn declaration along with their poll report on election day. She further clarified that the “certification will be validated by the election officer and will not require notarization outside the polling precinct.” ‘Hands off our honorarium’ Earlier, teachers groups have been urging the BIR, Comelec, and the DepEd to “spare” their poll honorarium from tax. Around 300,000 DepEd teachers and volunteers are expected to serve in the 2018 local elections. The Electoral Board, which shall be comprised of a chairperson, a poll clerk and a member, per clustered precinct shall be responsible for the conduct of voting and counting for the barangay and SK elections; preparation of the Election Returns (ERs); announcement of results in the precinct; submission of ERs to the Board of Canvassers, if mono precinct, convert into Barangay Board of Canvassers (BBOC). Currently, the Election Service Reform Act of 2016 (ESRA) law provides for the following honoraria amount of P6,000 for chairperson of Electoral Boards; P5,000 for members of Electoral Boards; P4,000 for Department of Education supervisor officials (DESO); and P2,000 for support staff. The foregoing amounts are exclusive of an additional P1,000 travel allowance along with other benefits that include a minimum of five days service credit; legal indemnification package worth P50,000; medical assistance of up to P200,000; and election-related death benefit amounting to P500,000. For the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), the tax imposition of BIR is among the lingering concerns of teachers during the elections. The group even called on to President Duterte to “intervene and direct” the BIR not to tax their election service pay. “We challenge the sincerity of his earlier pronouncements that it is his objective to exempt low-salaried sectors from income tax,” the group said. For the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), performing election duties for teachers has always been life-threatening. “The past elections have witnessed how teachers are injured, harassed, threatened, accused, charged, wounded or even killed… therefore, the minimum honorarium should not be taxed at all,” the group ended.