Following the gifts and rewards that the Olympians were given after they were placed during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the House of Representatives has recently approved the third and final reading of the bill that further guarantees a tax-free rewards program for the winning athletes and coaches in major international competitions.
Dubbed as the ‘Hidilyn Diaz Act,’ House Bill 9990 amends certain sections of the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act. Specifically, it adds the Section 4-A, which states,
“All incentives, rewards, bonuses and other forms of emoluments, as well as donations, gifts, endowments, and contributions, whether from public or private persons or entities, received by national athletes who compete or win in international sports competitions as defined in this Act, including those received by their respective coaches, shall be exempt from any and all national or local taxes, fees and charges, subject to rules and regulations to be issued by the Secretary of Finance as recommended by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.”
The said section further cites the exemption from donor’s tax and its deductibility from gross income. Competing national athletes may avail this program within a year before the start of an international sporting event, as certified by the respective bodies that accredited them and their coaches, which may be the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, or the National Paralympic Committee of the Philippines, (Hidilyn Diaz Act, HB 9990, 16th Congress, 2021) and within three months after such international sports competition.
Discussion about this measure came following Hidilyn Diaz’s gold medal victory at weightlifting during the recent Tokyo Olympics.
“We hope to close this room for interpretation by clarifying that all ‘rewards, bonuses and other emoluments’ for national athletes and coaches shall be exempt from any and all taxes,” said one of the bill’s co-authors, Albay Second District Rep. Jose Maria Clemente “Joey” Salceda.
Section 4-A states, “The exemptions and privileges provided herein shall take effect on Jan. 1, 2021, and shall not be availed in lieu of any tax exemption or privilege granted under existing laws,”
While our winning athletes may have been exempted from taxes, we are not. But we don’t need to be afraid of that, because Asian Consulting Group is offering Free Consultation and Assistance services for you! Send us an email at consult@acg.ph to get started!
SOURCE: Tolentino, M.R.L. (2021, September 1). House approves Hidilyn Diaz Act. The Manila Times. https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/house-approves-hidilyn-diaz-act/ar-AANWwFh