EUNEY MARIE MATA-PEREZ
Medical and hospitalization costs in the Philippines are not cheap and could be daunting for ordinary employees. Thus, to cover these costs, many employers obtain group health insurance plans or “health cards” for their employees or contribute to health and hospitalization benefit plans. The issue arises on whether premium costs paid for such group health insurance would be subject to the fringe benefits tax (FBT) or withholding/income tax on compensation income.