Lawmakers sidestepped lengthy bicameral talks on differing provisions of the income-tax reform bill after House members agreed to just adopt the Senate version of the measure increasing allowable exemption claims for individual and corporate tax filers.

Sen. Francis Escudero, the Senate’s ways and means committee chairman, confirmed that the House panel simply adopted the Senate version of the tax exemption bill without having to go through the bicameral process.

Escudero explained that the House action meant that the Senate’s version became the “enrolled bill” that would be ratified by both chambers, after which the measure would be submitted to Malacañang for signing into law.

He described an enrolled bill as the final version of a proposed measure adopted by both Houses.

In a statement, Escudero commended his House counterparts “for swiftly acting on the bill, which has been long anticipated to provide relief to minimum-wage earners in the country” who are automatically exempted from paying income tax once the bill becomes a law.

Under the adopted Senate version, married couples will be entitled to exemptions of P50,000 each, plus P25,000 for each dependent up to four children, for total exemptions amounting to P200,000.

THE government has abandoned its bid to a balanced budget and instead will allow its financial plans to run a deficit of up P75 billion, or about 1 percent of the gross domestic product.

WHEN liquidity problems struck the preneed industry in 2005, 49-year-old office personnel Diosdada Marquez was worried that her insurance provider might not be able to pay its obligations to her retirement policy that would mature that year.

NEWLY established Sterling Bank of Asia Inc. expects to be fully operational by 2012, and plans to buy a “problem-free” commercial bank within four years from now, president Lamberto Villena said Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. is pushing for a partial tax exemption for electric cooperatives, but only those servicing missionary rural areas.

Lawmakers sidestepped lengthy bicameral talks on differing provisions of the income-tax reform bill after House members agreed to just adopt the Senate version of the measure increasing allowable exemption claims for individual and corporate tax filers.

DAVAO CITY—The move to rescue the ailing rural banks is necessary and important, as these banks are directly serving the countryside.

THE peso yesterday closed at its intra day low of P43.72 per dollar, from P43.75, following an uptrend in most of the region’s currencies as crude oil prices come off their peaks.