Senate body inclined to remove remittances' documentary stamp tax

A Senate body is inclined to remove the documentary stamp tax (DST) on cash sent home by Filipinos working abroad, even if it means forfeiting a P1 billion a year. The yearly loss is “reasonable" and recognizes overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) contribution to the economy, Senate ways and means committee chairman Panfilo Lacson said. “The committee is inclined to recommend to the floor the abolition of DST on remittances," Lacson said after a hearing on the removal of DST on OFWs’ remittances, personal loans in pawnshops, and insurance. “We should give them a break, not just rhetoric and lip service," he said, adding that without remittances, the Philippine economy could already have collapsed. However, the committee may need more time to discuss the removal of DST for insurance companies and personal loans granted by pawnshops. Lacson also said they will have to discuss in more detail a proposal to remove DST for personal loans in pawnshops. Removing the DST may benefit the marginalized sector but there are concerns the pledgees will split the articles to be pawned, he said. The government stands to lose some P1.5 billion a year if the DST on pawnshop loans is removed. - GMANews.TV