Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Aksyon Demokratiko is urging presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and the rest of the Marcoses to avail of the estate tax amnesty program and immediately pay the P23 billion estate tax they owe to the government.
Aksyon Demokratiko is the political party of presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.
“Pagkakataon niyo na ito mga sirs, mga ma’am, mga Marcoses, Marcos Jr. Meron na po kayong amnesty. Bayad na po. Sige na po. Mas mapapakinabangan ito ng mas maraming Pilipino sa panahon ngayon,” Aksyon Demokratiko Chairman Ernest Ramel said in press conference on Friday.
(This is your chance, sirs and ma’am, the Marcoses, and Marcos Jr. There is an amnesty now. You should pay now. More Filipinos will benefit from the amount right now.)
Ramel was referring to the Republic Act No. 11569 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2021, which extended by two years the deadline for applications to avail of the government’s amnesty program on delinquent estate taxes until June 2023.
The measure amends Republic Act No. 11213, or the Tax Amnesty Act of 2019, which aimed to enhance revenue administration and collection by granting amnesty on all unpaid internal revenue taxes imposed by the national government for the taxable year 2017 and prior years.
Earlier, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas general counsel George Briones admitted that the Supreme Court in 1997 ruled with finality that the Marcoses owed P23 billion in estate tax. However, he said P180 billion in penalties may still be subject to reconciliation.
With the new law in place, Ramel said the Marcoses can now pay the P23 billion without thinking about the accrued interests.
“So, easily, pwede na nilang bayaran. Waived na yung P180 billion na computed surcharges, penalties and interests,” he pointed out.
(So they can now pay. The P180 billion computed surcharges, penalties, and interests will be waived.)
Meanwhile, Ramel also criticized Senator Imee Marcos for supposedly diverting public attention from the issue on their tax liabilities.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) earlier confirmed sending the Marcos family a written demand in December 2021 to pay their estate taxes liability.
BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay made the confirmation in a response to a letter sent to them by Ramel.