A Liberal Party stalwart wants a one year income tax exemption for newly hired public school teachers.
Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, former chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, made the proposal as he sought a P15,000 across-the-board salary increase for public school teachers.
Under House Bill 195, teachers who have been hired for the first time under the minimum salary grade as provided following the effectivity of the proposed act shall be entitled to income tax exemption for a period of one year.
“This will serve as an incentive to attract highly qualified teachers into the public school system,” Quimbo said.
He cited the need to upgrade the salaries and other benefits for education workers to further improve the quality of education in the country.
“The responsibility of molding a child to become a productive Filipino citizen lies heavily in the hands of a teacher. This is the delicate duty that teachers have committed to their line of work being so intimately connected with building the nation’s future,” he said.
“Despite this, however, existing laws are still unresponsive to their plight of enduring a measly salary as compensation for their work. Further, this little amount is further reduced with the rising costs of living and inflation in the country,” he said. (Charissa M. Luci)