MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday approved a bill extending the estate tax amnesty for 2 years, based on a document that Malacañang released.

The Tax Amnesty Act initially set a June 14, 2021 deadline for the filing of estate tax returns.

Duterte amended this law through Republic Act 11569, which said estate administrators or executors, legal heirs, transferees or beneficiaries can avail of the tax amnesty until June 14, 2023.

The President directed the finance secretary to coordinate with the internal revenue commissioner and issue regulations for this within 60 days from RA 11569's effectivity.

Card

The Tax Amnesty Act, signed into law in February 2019, allowed the public to settle outstanding tax liabilities and provided the government with additional revenues for its infrastructure and social programs.

The law, among others, provided estate tax amnesty covering the estate of decedents who died before Dec. 31, 2017, and whose estate taxes remained unpaid or have accrued as of that date.

The measure allowed the government to collect at least P1.85 billion as of December 2020, which is significantly lower than the projected P6.3 billion, Sen. Ramon Revilla, Jr. had said, when he sought an extension of the amnesty.

The extension will benefit those who have not yet filed their tax returns and settled their obligations “in light of the travel restrictions and economic difficulties” that the COVID-19 pandemic caused, Revilla said in February.

The finance department had no objection to the extended amnesty, according to the Senate website.

• Duterte signs CREATE bill lowering corporate income taxes, vetoes some provisions
• Duterte reduces, condones real property taxes of independent power producers

RELATED VIDEO

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv