President Duterte: “Nand’yan ang BIR, so tanungin natin ang BIR bakit hanggang ngayon, hindi nakolekta ‘yung estate tax?”
PRESIDENT DUTERTE — Without naming names, the Philippine President has asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) why it hasn’t yet collected a certain estate tax due.
The President said in his weekly televised “Talk to the People” public address aired Tuesday night that the BIR need not be reminded about its mandate to collect the estate tax as he justified why online sabong (online cockfighting) operations can’t be suspended.
Duterte pointed out that the government easily earns as much as PHP 640 million a month from online sabong through taxation.
“Hindi ko ho hininto kasi kailangan ng pera sa e-sabong ng gobyerno. I make it public now: It’s ₱640 million a month. In years, it’s billions plus…Saan tayo makakahanap ng pera na ganoon kadali? Sa taxation natin,” the President said. “Ang gobyerno can only prod. Hindi naman kailangang reminder sa Malacañang. Nand’yan ang BIR, so tanungin natin ang BIR bakit hanggang ngayon, hindi nakolekta ‘yung estate tax?“
CNN Philippines reported that the Department of Finance (DOF) is pushing the tax bureau to collect the unpaid estate taxes from the heirs of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. which have ballooned from PHP 23 billion in 1997 to around PHP 203 billion at present.
According to the DOF, the estate tax will be an additional source of revenue amidst the oil crisis and the rising prices of basic goods.
Despite the 1997 Supreme Court ruling that they must settle their tax liabilities, presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos has claimed that “there’s a lot of fake news involved” in his family’s unpaid estate taxes.
READ ALSO | Vivian Velez to Marcos Supporters: “Mag ambag kayo para bayaran ang estate tax ni BBM”
Aksyon Demokratiko earlier said that the Marcos family should voluntarily pay their tax liabilities in order to show their sincerity.
The party, headed by presidential candidate Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, also warned that Marcos family’s tax liabilities would likely be forgotten if Bongbong is elected president.
President Duterte hasn’t yet endorsed a presidential candidate, but the Cusi-led PDP-Laban already expressed support for Bongbong Marcos and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
Previously, the President called Bongbong a “weak leader” and a “spoiled child”, which he said is the reason why he couldn’t form a coalition between his and Mayor Sara’s political parties.
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