Disabled persons to get 20% discount

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is extending a 20 percent tax discount for persons with disabilities through the issuance of Revenue Regulation 1-2009.

The move is part of the implementation of the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability or Republic Act 9443, BIR Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV announced yesterday.

He said the 20 percent tax privileges may be claimed by the person with disability whenever he buys goods or services from any establishment. These include hotels and similar lodging inns and restaurants, sports and recreational centers, theaters, cinema houses, concert halls and other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement.

Persons with disabilities may also avail of the 20 percent tax discount on their drugstore purchase such as medicines.

They may also avail of the discount for their purchase of government medical and dental facilities and domestic air and sea transportation, Esquivias also said.

The discount will be based on the actual fare except promotional fare, and land transportation including skyways and expressways.

Esquivias said that in order to claim these privileges, the disabled person must present proof of his entitlement such as Identification (ID) card issued by the city mayor or barangay captain where he resides, passport, or transport discount fare ID card issued by the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP) or Local Government Units (LGUs).

However, the BIR chief clarified that for a person with disability who is also a senior citizen, he can only claim one 20 percent discount on a particular sales transaction.

The establishments which granted the sales discount to persons with disabilities may claim the discount as deduction from their gross income when they file their returns with the BIR.

“They are required to keep separate and accurate records of sales, which includes the name of the person with disability, ID number, gross sales and receipts, sales discount granted, date of transactions and invoice number for every sale transaction to a person with disability,” Esquivias said.

He said that any person or entity that fails to abide with the provisions of the said regulations is subject to corresponding penalties.– Iris C. Gonzales, Philippine Star