Tax amnesty bill gets Senate nod

The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a measure that seeks to grant tax amnesty to all unpaid taxes imposed by the government until 2017.

Senate Bill No. 2059 is an act “enhancing revenue administration and collection, and broadening the tax base by granting an amnesty on all unpaid internal revenue taxes imposed by the national government for taxable year 2017 and prior years with respect to estate tax, other internal revenue taxes and tax delinquencies add cross-border tax evasion and for other purposes.”

Once enacted into law, the said measure will allow taxpayers to “avail of a reprieve from all estate taxes on covered taxable years and pay a rate of 6% based on the total net estate.”

“We hope that this measure will encourage those in the formal and non-formal sector to legitimize, properly declare and pay the correct taxes without fear of civil, criminal or administrative penalties,” Senator Sonny Angara, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement.

“This is our chance to have a fresh start especially in something as important as taxes. As Filipinos seek a government they can trust, let this amnesty serve as another step closer to that end,” he added.

Those who will avail of the tax amnesty program “will be immune from payment of all taxes and the filing of civil, criminal and administrative cases and other penalties.”

Meanwhile, in lieu of the taxes that were supposed to be paid, only five percent of the total net worth or a minimum tax depending on the subscribed capital for corporations will be collected.

The bill also included a provision for a tax amnesty on delinquencies (TAD) to “enhance revenue collection, minimize administrative cost in pursuing tax cases and de-clog the tax case dockets pending in various courts.”

Under the said provision, taxpayers can avail of 40 percent of the basic tax for delinquencies and assessments which have become final and executory, 50 percent for those subjects of pending criminal cases and 60 percent for cases that are subjects of final and executory judgment by the courts.

Angara noted that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) “has more than P197.57 billion as delinquent accounts covering 2015 and prior years sitting idly in more than 58,600 cases.”

“Layunin ng tax amnesty na isaayos ang sistema ng pagbubuwis na magdadala nang higit pang kita para sa gobyerno upang mapondohan ang mga proyekto na makatutulong sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino,” Angara said. /ee

(The tax amnesty is aimed at adjusting the tax system to bring more revenue to the government to fund projects that will help each Filipino family.) /ee