FINANCE Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the government is studying a new general tax amnesty (GTA) measure, with the possibility of an estate-tax extension.
“We are also studying the possibility of enacting a General Tax Amnesty and online gambling tax laws,” Mr. Recto said in his speech at the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines Economic Forum on Monday.
The proposed tax amnesty will involve an amnesty charge set at a yet-to-be-determined percentage of the outstanding unpaid tax, in exchange for immunity from civil, criminal, and administrative penalties.
Mr. Recto said the GTA will be submitted to Congress this year, subject to the approval of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and the cabinet.
“There’s a call to extend the Estate Tax amnesty. We’ll include it here,” Mr. Recto said.
Two months ago, the Bureau of Internal Revenue moved the deadline for the filing, approval and payment of estate tax amnesty application to June 16 as June 14 landed on a weekend.
Republic Act No. 11956 extended the period for availing of the estate tax amnesty for another two years or until June 14, 2025, from the previous deadline of June 15, 2023.
This grants beneficiaries, transferees, or legal heirs sufficient time to settle taxes on inherited assets, particularly for estates of individuals who died on or before May 31, 2022.
“It’s not going to be the same bill passed by Congress then that was vetoed. This is just a General Tax Amnesty. This will be a simple amnesty bill,” he said.
In 2019, President Rodrigo R. Duterte vetoed the GTA provisions of Republic Act No. 11213 but retained the estate tax amnesty provisions.
Asked for further details of the bill and possible proposed deviations from the previous bill, Mr. Recto said: “No details yet. (The drafting is) being started right now.”
Mr. Recto told reporters the government is open to the idea of barring state-run firms from investing in businesses related to online gambling, after the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) purchased DigiPlus Interactive Corp. shares.
“We’ll look into it. I agree. The Maharlika (Investment Corp.) will not invest in this,” he said, referring to the sovereign wealth fund. Mr. Recto also serves as Maharlika chairman.
GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo Veloso is currently under preventive suspension over the pension fund’s investment decisions. The GSIS had also purchased Alternergy Holdings Corp. shares, allegedly without adhering to the pension fund’s prescribed internal approval procedures.
Mr. Recto is proposing to deter gambling addiction by taxing the online gambling industry, while other parts of the government crack down on electronic wallet use in online gambling.
“This is a whole-of-government approach. Even the President has said he will call for a semi-summit to discuss the issue,” Mr. Recto said. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
