Tax perks for government-led socialized housing projects pushed

Housing and revenue authorities have agreed to simplify as well as fast-track issuance of tax perks for government-led socialized housing projects.

Specifically, the Bureau of Internal Revenue signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the National Housing Authority to “streamline, facilitate and prioritize the processing and issuance of the BIR’s certificate of tax exemption (CTE) for transfers to the NHA of raw land intended for socialized housing projects,” the BIR said in a statement.

The government provides tax incentives to cheap socialized housing for the homeless and underprivileged under Republic Act (RA) No. 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.

Under the MOA, HUDCC must regularly submit to the BIR an updated master list of government housing projects qualified for incentives under RA 7279.

As for the NHA, it must endorse to the BIR housing contractors’ CTE applications as well as assist in evaluating, verifying and certificating such documentary requirements.

The MOA was signed by BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay, Vice President and HUDCC Chairperson Maria Leonor G. Robredo, and NHA Acting General Manager Marcelino P. Escalada Jr.

In a separate statement, state-run Social Housing Finance Corp. said its board approved last Oct. 26 P271.8 million in housing loan applications under its community mortgage and high density housing programs, which would benefit 2,925 informal settler families in 20 housing sites across the country.

Of the total community mortgage program loans, P165.8 million would be used to acquire lots, while P85.7 million will be spent on lot acquisition, site development as well as house construction for offsite projects for informal settler families relocating to a property and location of their choice, SHFC president Ma. Ana Oliveros said.

The SHFC board also allotted P20.2 million for refinancing of a high density housing project in Quezon City.

“SHFC has been adopting policy reforms and measures to further boost the implementation of its housing finance programs for informal settler families in line with the policy initiatives of Vice President Leni Robredo,” the agency said.

As of September, the SHFC’s community mortgage program assisted 289,762 informal settler families through over P13 billion in loans since 1988, while its high density housing program benefitted 18,125 families through nearly P3.3 billion in loans from 2013 to present.