The House Ways and Means Committee approved a measure on Monday, May 17, that will exempt the honoraria of election servers from being subjected to income and other withholding taxes.

The unnumbered substitute bill seeks to amend the National Internal Revenue Code, in order to exclude election-related honoraria, allowances, and benefits from the computation of gross income.

The tax exemption covers teachers who serve as members of the Board of Election Inspectors during national and local polls.

Based from data from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), taxes withheld during the 2019 National and Local elections reached up to Php 56.8 million.