MANILA – Malacañang reiterated on Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte has done his part in reminding the Bureau of International Revenue (BIR) to make sure that all estate taxes are are duly collected.
In a press release, acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar acknowledged mounting calls for the government to collect the unpaid estate tax of the Marcos family.
“The issue of the Marcos family’s estate tax liabilities has spanned over several administrations,” Andanar said.
He stated that Duterte already called out the BIR for failing to collect the unpaid estate taxes in a prerecorded public address on March 29.
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his last Talk to the People Address has already called the attention of the Bureau of Internal Revenue to address this issue,” Andanar added.
Andanar said during a Palace press briefing on March 30 that Duterte’s remark was a reminder for the BIR, stating that the agency should go after all individuals not paying their taxes.
“Hindi lang sa kung sinong politiko o personalidad. Dapat sa lahat ng personalidad na hindi nagbabayad ay dapat habulin ng BIR sapagkat kailangan ng karagdagang pondo ng ating national government (Not just certain politicians or personality. The BIR should go after any person who is not paying their taxes because the national government needs the additional fund),” Andanar said.
The BIR sent a demand letter to the Marcoses in December 2021 to pay their estate tax which grew to PHP203 billion after the party of presidential candidate Manila Mayor Isko Moreno called for its urgent settlement.
According to the Department of Finance, the BIR continued to demand that the Marcos family settle their estate tax debt on March 30.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III has called for a Senate investigation into the BIR’s alleged inability to collect the Marcoses’ estate tax liability.
The government, he said, could use the money to finance subsidies to the poor amid the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic and surging global oil prices.
The Supreme Court affirmed in 1997 a verdict by the Court of Appeals on the estate tax liability on the Marcos family as “final and executory”.
The camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has insisted that the Marcos family’s estate tax remains unsettled since the properties linked to the case are still under litigation.
4 Replies to “Palace: Duterte already called BIR’s attention over uncollected estate tax”