Source: Public Relations and Information Department

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On removal of tax shield for religious groups
Nograles: 'Studying and proposing are different species'
21 February 2008 01:35:51 PM

House Speaker Prospero Nograles today denied that he is proposing the removal of the tax shield for religious institutions and clarified that he was only reacting to a question raised by the media where he was asked if it is worth studying to look into the possibility of lifting the tax privileges for religious organizations which are involved in politics.

"Studying and proposing are two different species. We can even study the possibility of sending Filipinos to Mars but it doesn't mean I am proposing it. Any proposal is worth studying but it's entirely a different story when I say that I'm advocating it," Speaker Nograles said.

Speaker Nograles said it so happened that he just finished reading the tax laws in the United States where he encountered its tax policy on religious organizations, charitable institutions and non-profit organizations when the question on the possibility of lifting the tax shield for religious organizations was raised by the media so he replied that this proposal, just like many other proposals, can be studied.

Nograles said that despite his long experience as a legislator and his solid background as a lawyer, he is continuously baffled on why the United States which has become a model for most democratic governments including the Philippines has managed to define the grey area that separates the State and the Church.

Even in the wake of criticisms on the war policy of President George Bush in Iraq and the Lewinsky scandal that rocked the Clinton administration, the religious organizations in the United States stayed away from the political fray.

Speaker Nograles said that in the US, tax exempt privileges being accorded to religious organizations, charitable institutions and non-profit organizations has some preconditions under its Internal Revenue Code (Section 501) and among which is the prohibition for any organization or institution which availed of tax privileges from "conducting lobbying activities and in participating and intervening, directly or indirectly, in political campaigns."

But while the application of this provision in US tax laws in the Philippines can be an ideal for review and further research, this does not mean that he is advocating it, both in his capacity as a lawyer and as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

"Let it be understood that I'm not proposing it or even advocating it. Personally, I believe that any study on this issue however will be most welcome," Speaker Nograles said.