The President of the Republic promulgated a decree on Friday altering the Tax Benefits Statute and creating the National Patronage Platform, according to an announcement published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic.
The decree was approved by parliament following a proposal from the Government. It modifies tax incentive rules for patronage to increase the deduction amount that donor companies can claim against corporate income tax, revising deduction limits upwards and adjusting donation markup percentages.
According to the proposal, the new framework applies across general patronage. This covers cultural and scientific sectors, alongside solidarity institutions, associations, local authorities, foundations, state services, hospital entities, public utility entities, social solidarity cooperatives, and non-governmental organizations defending human rights, women, and gender equality.
National Patronage Platform
The updated framework establishes the National Patronage Platform to handle the submission and tracking of requests. It also creates official status titles for cultural entities and cultural initiatives.
The Government intends to use the platform to reduce response times and cut red tape for patronage applications. The platform will publish lists of eligible projects and beneficiary organizations.
Under the proposal approved by parliament, corporate donations will be treated as operating expenses or losses for tax purposes. The maximum deductible limit increases to 1% of a company's sales volume or services rendered, up from the previous limit of 0.8%.
For scientific patronage benefiting foundations, public or private institutes, higher education institutions, libraries, media centers, documentation centers, state laboratories, and research and development units, the executive proposed that the deductible amount equal 130% of the donated value.
