Tax breaks for private funders of national athletes

PSC chair William Ramirez. Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Money flowed out of the pockets of private sponsors when Filipino athletes brought home medals from the recent Tokyo Olympics. The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) hopes this kind of generosity will bloom and corporations will adopt top performing athletes exclusively under their care.

And the agency is offering a carrot to corporations willing to do that.

PSC chair William Ramirez said on Monday that the private sector could avail of tax breaks from the government once the cooperation to support these national athletes has been forged and that his agency will help process those exemptions.

“We encourage more private participation not only for handing out cash incentives, but to invest or adopt an athlete of their choice,’’ said Ramirez.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in history when she ruled the 55-kilogram division of weightlifting in the Tokyo Games, and almost immediately, corporations began reaching for their wallets and opening them wide.

So far, Diaz has collected more than P50 million in bonuses.

Boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, who both claimed silver medals in Tokyo, likewise received cash incentives from both the government and the private sector, together with bronze medalist boxer Eumir Marcial.

“These companies can avail of tax exemptions from the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). They will be guided on how to avail these exemptions,’’ said Ramirez.

Ramirez hopes the tax breaks will encourage more private support to help the PSC. INQ