THE National Anti-Poverty Commission-Formal Labor and Migrant Workers Sectoral Council (NAPC-FLMWSC) has welcomed the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s regulation increasing the ceiling of non-taxable benefits for workers. NAPC-FLWMSC sectoral representative Danilo Laserna said Sunday that the revenue regulation, signed by then-Department of Finance (DOF) secretary Ralph Recto in November, amended the rules on de minimis (about minimal things) benefits. Laserna, in a statement emailed to The Manila Times, said the development followed the council’s call for a “re–evaluation and necessary adjustments in existing tax policies” to help alleviate the plight of the working class. “Specifically, the NAPC-FLWMSC has urged the government to increase the current ceiling on personal income tax exemption and de minimis tax–exempt limits benefits to better reflect prevailing economic conditions,” Laserna said. “The subsequent issuance of the revenue regulation demonstrates the government’s responsiveness to the legitimate concerns raised by the labor sector,” he added. According to NAPC-FLWMSC, the previous ceiling on de minimis benefits no longer reflected present economic realities. With the continuous rise in the cost of living, inflation, and the prices of basic commodities, existing limits had fallen short of providing meaningful relief, particularly for low– and middle–income workers, the commission said. Laserna reiterated that the new BIR measure would provide immediate relief without imposing additional tax burdens and contribute to decent work, improved quality of life, and poverty reduction — NAPC’s core objectives.” He said the council has been continuously pushing various reforms, including the proposed increase in the personal income tax exemption threshold from P250,000 to P400,000 and the passage of the proposed P200 across–the–board wage increase, which continues to face legislative gridlock.