Rep. Vilma Santos seeks tax exemption for overtime pay

MANILA - Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto said Friday she filed a bill seeking to exempt overtime pay from tax to help spur consumer spending.

Recto's move came as the two-month old administration of President Rodrigo Duterte moved to revamp the country's tax system, to include a possible lowering of personal and corporate income taxes.

"This, in turn, would trigger demand for more goods and services, and thereby stimulate activities in the industrial and service sectors and generate more taxes," Recto said of House Bill 2599.

An estimated 39.8 million employees from both private and public sectors will benefit from if it is passed into law, said the lawmaker, who chairs the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation.