Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 9) — The House of Representatives passed on third and final reading Monday a bill seeking to rationalize taxes on passive income and financial intermediaries.

With a tally of 186 affirmative votes, six negative votes and two abstentions, House Bill 304, called the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Act, was passed at the plenary level.

The bill would simplify current tax measures by placing a uniform 15 percent tax on interest and dividend income from bank deposits, bond investments, stocks, and the like.

Currently these items have different tax schemes depending on the type of product, currency, maturity, issuer, residency, and business status. Interest income currently has a 20 percent tax rate while dividend income has a 10 percent tax.

The approved measure also provides that banks and other financial firms would have to impose a flat 5 percent gross receipts tax, from the previous 1-7 percent rates.

Taxes for insurance and health maintenance organization premiums would be unified at 2 percent.

House committee ways and means chairperson Joey Salceda said the bill would mean a net revenue of P4.2 billion for the government.

The Department of Finance, in recommending the measure, noted that the tax on interest income in the Philippines is higher compared to the rest of Southeast Asia.

The House is also set to decide on the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform (CITIRA) bill.