CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Dec. 1 (PNA) — Lawmakers are pushing for the strengthening of the tax exemption of registered cooperatives as one of the economic prime movers in the country.
Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez, both authors of House Bill (HB) No. 6281, said that the Bill amends Republic Act (RA) No. 9520.
RA No. 9520 is also known as “An act amending the Cooperative Code of the Philippines to be known as the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008.”
HB 6281 adds a new Article numbered 61-A to RA 9520, which reads:
“Art. 61-A. A Certificate of Good Standing issued by the Cooperative Development Authority certifying that a cooperative is in good standing and that such cooperative falls under the provisions of Articles 60 and 61 of this Act shall be considered as conclusive proof for the Bureau of Internal Revenue that the cooperative is entitled to the corresponding tax exemptions.”
With the amendment, the proposed Bill intends to strengthen the tax exemption of 24,633 registered cooperatives all over the country, which translate to millions of members.
These cooperatives also provide socioeconomic services to members, which could not be availed from financial institutions, local governments and other service providers, the proposed Bill said.
It said that the cooperatives have also been recognized as vehicles for promoting self-reliance and harnessing people power towards the attainment of economic development and social justice. (PNA)