SENATORS on Thursday thanked the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue for suspending temporarily the imposition of tax on private schools.

They, however, called for permanent measures that will protect private schools from unjust taxation.

Senators Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara, Ralph Recto and Joel Villanueva expressed their gratitude to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III  and BIR Commissioner Cesar Dulay for suspending the implementation of Revenue Regulations No. 5-2021.

“Maraming salamat Secretary Dominguez and BIR Commissioner Dulay for heeding the clamor of private educators who share with government the burden of teaching our youth. This is what I call a taxation timeout. Now, the ball is on the court of Congress to permanently fix the confusion caused by the language of that law,” Angara said.

“The order suspends the collection of the tax. The permanent solution, however, will be in the form of a law purging all ambivalence in that provision of the Tax Code,” Recto said.

“This is one problem partially solved. Let us move forward by adopting measures that will address the crisis in the entire educational system which the pandemic has worsened,” he added.

Villanueva, on the other hand, reiterated the importance of amending the law.

“Ito po ang kailangan natin na ‘academic revenue freeze.’ Dagdag na tulong, hindi dagdag na tax ang kailangan ng mga pribadong paaralan sa panahon ng pandemya. Wala pong revenue loss dito,” the chairman of the Senate committee on higher and technical and vocational education.

Last Monday, the BIR issued Revenue Regulations No. 14-2021, suspending the implementation of Sections 2C on the definition of Proprietary Educational Institutions insofar  as it includes the phrase which is non-profit; 2E on the definition of non-profit insofar as it applies to Proprietary Educational Institutions; and 3B which provides illustration on the tax treatment of Proprietary Educational Institutions that are non-profit.

The BIR said that the suspension was meant to ease the burden of taxation among proprietary educational institutions, especially during the pandemic.