ShareThisU.S. President signs law making donations to PHL of Americans tax deductible US PRESIDENT Barack Obama talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Oval Office of the White House as National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice looks on. Mr. Obama boosted relief and rehabilitation efforts in typhoon hit Visayas as he girds for his first Manila visit in three weeks. Kerry, on the other hand, endorsed Temporary Protective Status to thousands of Filipinos. (White House Photo)
WASHINGTON/MANILA (PhilAmPress) -– U.S. President Barack Obama has effectively boosted the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the areas battered by super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines.
This as the U.S. President signed into law a legislative measure that would allow American taxpayers to claim deductions for donations they made to support relief and rehabilitation efforts in the Philippines in the aftermath of the super typhoon.
The signing of the new law came as Mr. Obama prepared to visit Manila for the first time in April to discuss with President Benigno S. Aquino III bilateral relationship and
concerns, including the escalating tension with China due to conflicting claims over islands and reefs in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
Obama was the first world leader to extend support to the Philippines in the aftermath of the super typhoon Yolanda, sending tons of relief goods, medicines, water, tents and other needs and military personnel on several warships with transport planes and trucks.
To date, the U.S. government has provided a total of P3.9 billion or about $ 87.7 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for the typhoon survivors.
The new law, called the Charitable Giving Assistance Act, would allow taxpayers who donate to the relief efforts in the Philippines after the President’s signature on March 25 and before April 15 to take the charitable deduction when they file their 2013 tax returns.
At the White House, Press Secretary Jay Carney said the new law is call H.R. 3771 or the “Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act.”
Carney said at a press briefing in the White House that the new law “allows taxpayers to accelerate the income tax benefits for certain charitable cash contributions made before April 15, 2014, for the relief of victims in areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan.”
Taxpayers who donate in this time frame but have already filed their taxes can amend their tax returns to receive these benefits this year.
Without this law, taxpayers can claim a tax deduction for contributions they make to charities, but they receive the tax incentive many months later after they file their tax returns the following year. The law eliminates this delay.
Meanwhile, President Obama may support the grant of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) on Filipinos in the United States which is now pending before the Department of Homeland Security. The measure which would temporarily stay actions like detention and deportation on some 500,000 Filipinos helping their relatives who are typhoon victims has been endorsed to the DHS by Secretary of State John Kerry.
In a related development, President Obama issued a new statement pushing for new immigration reform measures which are pending before the U.S. Congress which are expected to help some 15 million undocumented individuals in the US, including thousands of Filipinos.
“Last year, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate came together to pass a commonsense bill to fix our broken immigration system – a bill that would grow our economy, shrink our deficits, and reward businesses and workers that play by the rules,”Obama said.
“But so far, Republicans in the House have refused to allow meaningful immigration reform legislation to even come up for a vote,” he said.
Mr. Obama added: “That’s why, today, I applaud the efforts of Democrats in the House to give immigration reform the yes-or-no vote it deserves. Like the Senate bill, the House bill would strengthen our borders, modernize our legal immigration system, and keep more families together. It would make sure everyone plays by the same rules by providing a pathway to earned citizenship for those who are living in the shadows. And according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it would grow our economy and reduce our deficits by $900 billion over the next 20 years.”
“Immigration reform is the right thing to do for our economy, our security, and our future,” Obama stressed. “A vast majority of the American people agree. The only thing standing in the way is the unwillingness of Republicans in Congress to catch up with the rest of the country. And I want to thank the leaders in Congress who are doing their part to move us forward.”
Philippine officials immediately welcomed the enactment of the Charitable Giving Assistance Act.
“The immediate signing by President Obama of the Philippine Charitable Giving Assistance Act underscores the importance the U.S. government places on the immediate recovery of typhoon-devastated areas in the Philippines,” Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr. said in a statement from Washington.
Cuisia thanked Obama for his prompt action on the measure and lawmakers led by Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono and California Rep. Eric Swalwell and their cosponsors for introducing the bill and ensuring its passage in Congress.
Obama signed it into law on Tuesday, Wednesday in Manila.
“I wish to reiterate the profound gratitude of the Philippine government and the Filipino people for the generous outpouring of support and solidarity by the U.S. government and the American people to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan,” Cuisia said.
The new law was introduced in the House of Representatives by Swalwell and was co-sponsored by 35 congressmen — 26 Democrats and nine Republicans. It was unanimously passed as House Resolution 3771 on Monday.
At the U.S. Senate, Resolution 1821, sponsored by Hirono, and supported by Majority Leader Harry Reid and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, among others, was passed on March 6.
Yolanda, known by its international codename Haiyan, was one of the strongest recorded storm to hit land with tsunami-like storm surges that washed and damaged more than a million houses and left more than 6,200 people dead and 1,800 missing.
At least 14 million people have been affected across the Central Philippines and the U.N. said it will take several years before the devastated areas could fully recover.
The U.S., a Philippine military ally, was among the first countries to respond to the disaster by deploying troops, navy ships, aircraft and monetary aid after the storm wrought massive devastation across the Visayas region on Nov. 8.