By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

In a press statement yesterday, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara explained Senate Bill 1592, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill, will provide both private and public school teachers with greater take-home pay.
He reiterated statements made back in September regarding those with an annual income of P150,000 or below being exempt from paying income tax; with exemptions for 13th month pay, benefits, and dependents also included.
Angara explained, monthly salary for a Teacher 1, or Salary Grade 11, is P20,179, which, under the tax reform proposal, would result in an annual savings of up to P18,987, attributed to the raised income threshold.
This amount would also depend on the number of dependents.
If the said Teacher 1 has as three or four dependents, he or she would no longer have to pay income taxes, he added; currently, they are taxed at 20 percent.
The senator also looked at the income of an assistant professor at a private college, who makes a monthly salary of P31,530. He quotes an annual savings of at least P30,916.
Last month, in terms of those required to pay taxes, Angara projected 99 percent would have a lower tax responsibility./WDJ