BIR: Candidates will be taxed for excess campaign donations

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said yesterday that campaign contributions received by candidates for use in the recent national and local elections will be placed under the income tax umbrella if the said candidates will not file statement of expenditures with the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Revenue regional directors issued the warning following reports that many candidates, especially those who lost, have yet to file or are contemplating on not filing any campaign expenditure statements with the poll body. The BIR field officials cited Revenue Regulation No. 7-2011 signed by BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares stating that “any candidate, winning or losing, who fails to file with the Comelec the appropriate statement of expenditures under the Omnibus Election Code shall be automatically precluded from claiming such expenditures as deductions from his campaign contributions.” “As such the entire amount of such campaign contributions shall be considered as directly subject to [...]