Some 920,000 Filipino families with unsettled estates could benefit from the extension of the Estate Tax Amnesty Act, which will be sent to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s desk following the adoption by the House of Representatives of the Senate version, a leader of the lower chamber said on Monday.
The lower chamber adopted the Senate Bill 2219 as recommended by the House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda.
“It heads straight to PBBM’s desk. It’s another major win. And it is an enhanced version, since it limits discretion of BIR on what documents to require, and it allows payment by installments,” Salceda said.
On top of the House version’s provisions – which extend the Estate Tax Amnesty period to June 2025 – the ratified version also extends the period of deaths covered to May 2022, said Salceda.
The ratified version also provides for electronic filing of estate tax amnesty applications, and limits the number of documents required for filing, he added.
“Basically, Estate Tax Amnesty will possibly go on uninterrupted, if PBBM signs this before June 14,” Salceda said.
The current estate tax amnesty expires by June 14 this year, unless the extension measure is signed before that.
“Regardless, we’re more or less sure there will be extension,” Salceda said.
Salceda added that the BIR “may want to draft the regulations now, so they can issue it as soon as possible. I would also think the extension is self-implementing, so we don’t need new rules for the most part.”
The bill also shortened the period for issuing the implementing rules and regulations to 30 days, from 60 days. Estate tax amnesty applications can also be filed electronically.
Salceda earlier estimated that as much as 920,000 Filipino families have unsettled estates that could benefit from the amnesty.
“The amnesty is also consistent with the full estate tax forgiveness envisioned under the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, set to be PBBM’s most significant legislative accomplishment on his first year,” Salceda explained.
The bill seeks to amend the following: RA 8424 (National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended by RA 10963 (Train Law); RA 11213 (Tax Amnesty Act); and, RA 11569, (An Act Extending the Estate Tax Amnesty and for Other Purposes, Amending Section 6 of RA 11213).
Under the current ecosystem, people seeking to avail the amnesty are expected to pay tax at a rate of 6 percent based on the decedent’s total net estate (or net undeclared estate if there’s a previously filed estate tax return) at the time of death.
Image credits: PCOO
