The Cooperative all over Western Visayas had gathered to show forces for “No to tax for Cooperative” .This gathering implifies cooperatives are up in arms against proposed bills in Congress that aim to abolish their privilege of tax exemption. Leaders of cooperative federations agreed to campaign against provisions in the proposed law on the Rationalization of Fiscal Investment Incentives, now pending in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
The cooperatives are particularly wary on the provision of the proposed law that seeks to repeal section 60 and 61 of the Cooperative Code of the Philippines (Republic Act 9520). These provisions give cooperatives tax exemption privileges, among the non-taxable income of cooperatives are those derived from transactions with its members. Also cooperatives with assets of not more than P10 million are exempt from “all national, city, municipal or barangay taxes. They are also exempt from customs duties, advance sales or compensation taxes on their importation of machineries, equipment and spare parts used by them.” The creation of the CDA is mandated in section 15, Article XII of the Constitution, which says it is the policy of the state “to promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments of equity, social justice and economic development.”
Cooperatives are voluntary organizations of people who want to develop their economic lives by their own advantages and using their own resources.”