THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it is waiting for President Rodrigo R. Duterte to sign a bill that will extend the validity of the estate tax amnesty program for another two years, with the original program set to end Monday.
BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel SD. Guballa said in a message to reporters that the bill granting the extension is currently before Mr. Duterte for signature.
The House of Representatives adopted late last month Senate Bill 2208, which aims to extend the estate tax amnesty by another two years, to fast-track the process and ensure the measure’s prompt dispatch to Malacañang.
The bill will amend Republic Act 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Act of 2019, moving the deadline for amnesty applications to June 14, 2023.
The program allows taxpayers to settle their unpaid estate taxes on estates inherited as of the end of 2017.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III did not respond when asked to clarify the scenarios for a delayed signing.
Malacañang also did not respond to queries about the bill’s status.
Mr. Guballa said the agency is still compiling data on the results of the program and was not able to provide an updated estimate of the revenue generated from the amnesty.
The bureau had reported a take of P1.58 billion as of December.
Aside from the estate tax amnesty, the government also has an ongoing amnesty program for delinquent accounts, giving taxpayers an opportunity to settle their outstanding obligations and close their delinquency assessment cases in the years up to 2017.
The BIR had collected P3.544 billion in revenue from delinquent accounts as of December.
The two tax amnesty programs are among the revenue-generating measures authorized by the comprehensive tax reform program.
The Department of Finance (DoF) had forecast the potential for the amnesty on delinquent accounts to yield up to P21 billion in collections, with another P6 billion generated by the estate tax amnesty.
The DoF has said there were 18 tax amnesty programs implemented between 1972 and 2008, with the last round yielding P4.913 billion in collections. — Beatrice M. Laforga