THE Estate Tax Amnesty Act is now a law, which will be called Republic Act No. 11956, says House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda of the 2nd district of Albay.
Salceda, the measure’s principal author and sponsor, says the law would benefit as much as 1 million Filipino families with unsettled estates.
The solon likewise thanked President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., adding that the law is a “perfect fit” with New Agrarian Emancipation Act.
“I thank President Marcos and I congratulate Speaker Romualdez, the leading driver of this measure, for another accomplishment,” Salceda said.
“It will benefit some 920,000 Filipino families who have unsettled estates, many of whom include the 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries recently released from debt by President Marcos’s New Agrarian Emancipation Act,” he added.
The law will extend the Estate Tax Amnesty period to June 2025 and the period of deaths covered will be up to May 2022. It also provides for electronic filing of estate tax amnesty applications and limits the number of documents required for filing.
The bill also shortened the period for issuing the implementing rules and regulations to 30 days from the original 60 days. Estate tax amnesty applications can also be filed electronically.
“It has many improvements compared to the previous Estate Tax Amnesty, especially as it makes the administrative requirements for filing much easier to comply with. It is also consistent with the full estate tax forgiveness envisioned under the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which was PBBM’s most significant legislative accomplishment on his first year,” Salceda added.
Salceda also pointed out that “this is the first law enacted by the Committee on Ways and Means, and there is a pipeline of measures that the House already approved which await Senate approval.”
He said that the Filipino people will likely see at least two more pro-taxpayer laws enacted this year, including the Ease of Paying Taxes Law and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. This, he said, will “create the necessary balance between raising revenues for government programs and making the taxpayer experience less burdensome.”