Senator Imee Marcos said that her mother, Imelda, has yet to receive a demand letter from BIR.
IMEE MARCOS — The senator said that the Marcoses have yet to receive any communication from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) demanding payment for a multi-billion-peso tax on the estate of late President Ferdinand Marcos.
On Friday, Imee said in a radio interview that her mother Imelda and her lawyers have yet to receive a demand letter for the unpaid estate tax, which court records showed was initially set at PHP 23 billion but has reportedly ballooned to PHP 203 billion over the decades.
According to Imee, the legal counsels of Imelda and her brother, presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos, have been looking for the demand letter from the tax bureau, claiming that they only knew about it from the media.
“Ang problema kasi, ‘yung nanay ko, wala pa raw natatanggap. Tinanong ko sa kanya, e ‘yung mga abogado niya, wala pang natatanggap. So nakikipaguganayan sila sa BIR na makakuha ng kopya at makipag-meeting,” Imee said. “Matagal na naming hinihingi rin ito e, kasi pati kami nalilito e.”
The tax bureau earlier said that it has sent a written demand to the Marcoses regarding their tax liabilities amounting to PHP 203.819 billion last year.
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On March 30, the Department of Finance (DOF) said that the tax bureau continues to demand the Marcos family settle their estate tax debt.
GMA News Online reported that an entry of judgment from the Supreme Court showed that the assessment of multi-billion estate taxes already became “final and executory” in 1999.
Meanwhile, Imee questioned the timing of the estate tax issue, tagging it as part of dirty politics.
To recall, it was the party of presidential candidate Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso who first raised the issue of the Marcos family’s estate taxes.
“Ang akin lang, ang dami dami ng taon, bakit bigla ngayon lumabas, talagang parang paninira naman yata ito ng bulok na politika. Inuungkat ito,” Imee said. “At tiyaka sa totoo lang ‘wa epek’ na e dahil masyadong sawang-sawa na yung tao sa paulit-ulit na paninira sa amin. Parang hindi naman tumatalab na. Ang akin, ‘yung kaso tuloy-tuloy yan kahit sino pa man ang manalo.”
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