Estate tax amnesty extension hurdles House panel
THE House Committee on Ways and Means has approved a measure that seeks to extend the amnesty for payment of estate taxes until June 15, 2025.
In the hearing, at least 31 members of the committee voted in favor of House Bill (HB) No. 7409 authored by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Majority Floor Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and Tingog party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre.
Once enacted, the Section 6 of Republic Act No. 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Act provisions Estate Tax Amnesty would be amended, by changing the deadline from June 15, 2023 to June 14, 2025.
In approving the measure, the members stressed the need of the bill because a lot of families have failed to settle the estate of their deceased relatives — making the provision of additional time necessary.
An estate tax is a tax on the right of the deceased person to transmit the estate to lawful heirs and beneficiaries. RA No. 11213 was passed to provide taxpayers immunity from the payment of estate taxes until June 15, 2021.
However, the pandemic hampered the settlement of estates, which to begin with, is inherently challenged by family sensitivities.
To give people more time to settle estates, we extended the estate tax amnesty from June 15, 2021, to June 14, 2023, by enacting RA No. 11569 last Congress.
Lawmakers also streamlined the procedure by removing the requirement of proof of settlement in the payment of the estate tax under the same law.
Reports said that there are families who still struggle with the filing of required documents, while some fail to comply with cash requirements.
Republic Act No. 11569, which also amended the mother law or R.A. No. 11213, was signed by former president Rodrigo Duterte last July 2021.
The Duterte-signed R.A. No. 11569 sought to enhance revenue collection by granting amnesty on unpaid internal revenue taxes imposed by the national government for the taxable year 2017 and prior years.
