Senator Pia Cayetano on Tuesday, August 3 vowed to expedite the passage of the bill that seeks to clarify the controversy regarding the preferential tax rates of private schools.

Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said she is now waiting for the transmittal of the House of Representative’s version of the bill to the Senate so the Upper House can swiftly pass the bill into law.

“Since tax bills must emanate from the House, we will await the transmittal of the House version. But I do believe it will be an easy bill to pass,” Cayetano said.

“Private schools are the government’s partners in education. This partnership is even more crucial today, as our nation deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted our educational system and the formal learning of our current generation of students,” the senator further said.

Last June 30, Cayetano’s panel held a hearing on Senate Bill No. 2272 filed by Sen. Sonny Angara, which seeks to amend Section 27 (B) of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC).

Angara’s bill proposes to effectively clarify that the preferential tax rate of 10 percent under the NIRC which was lowered by the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE Act to 1 percent from July 1, 2020 until June 30, 2023 applies to all private schools.

The measure seeks to put an end to the debates as to whether “for-profit” private schools were covered or not. The senators in attendance all expressed support for the bill.

The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, earlier approved the counterpart measure of the Lower House on Monday.

“Let’s help the private schools do their job as the government’s partner in educating our children,” Cayetano said.