The Estate Tax Amnesty was extended yet again with the House passing the bill with great speed and the Senate adopting it and signing it recently as is so as to ensure it beats the deadline. The only thing needed now is the signature of the President.
If approved, the extension will now benefit more people as it shall cover estates of decedents who passed away on or before May 31, 2022. Before it was only for those who died before 2018.
Other changes are less requirements, online filing as well as installment options. This is indeed good news and most likely the last time in a long time we will benefit from this.
The Department of Finance already announced in their website that the President will sign before the State of the Nation Address.We hope he signs it before the deadline on June 14, though.
Once out, we will come up with another Ultimate Guide on our Youtube and Facebook channel.
We recently conducted a small claims case webinar hosted by the St. Stephen’s High School Alumni Association. We explained how you can recover small money claims not exceeding PHP 400,000 exclusive of interest and costs of suit in a very fast and cost-effective method.
For the handbook on small claims, you may click here.
For the webinar, you may click on the picture below.
We will be posting the slides and a brief explanation on the in’s and out’s of this remedy in the coming days as well!
The Implementing Rules and Regulations for the Estate Amnesty Tax extension is out!
Noteworthy items include:
The new deadline in June 14, 2023
There is no need for proof of settlement (judicial or extrajudicial) when submitting the Estate Tax Amnesty Return (ETAR)
but no electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) shall also unless such proof is presented
The BIR Form has been revised (2118-EA)
Filing is now where the executor or administrator is registered, or if not yet registered, at the executor or administrator’s residence.
It also seems that after you submit your documents, you may need to wait 5 days before it is endorsed for payment with the authorized agent banks/collection officers or notified of any deficiencies in the application (i.e. babalik po kayo)
It also seems that there is a direction to issue just one eCAR for all properties although we are not there yet. (one property, one eCAR for now)
Lastly, should there be properties not covered by the deed of extra judicial settlement or court order, only those properties covered shall be issued eCAR. I hope this means that they will issue eCAR at least for those indicated.
Are you a Filipino who has been divorced from your foreign spouse?
Did you know that you are still married in the Philippines without a court recognition of the divorce? Did you know that if this is the case, your ex can still inherit from you properties located in the Philippines in case you die ahead of him/her?
Did you know it is simple (but not necessarily easy) to have this foreign divorce recognized?
Register and attend our FREE and EASY TO UNDERSTAND WEBINAR on Foreign Divorce tonight at 7 p.m. Manila time here on https://www.facebook.com/jstplaw/
The Estate Tax Amnesty Act Extension is OFFICIAL. RA 11569 extends the Estate Tax Amnesty until June 14, 2023. It was officially approved today (June 30) and will take effect 15 days from publication in the Official Gazette.
Implementing Rules and Regulations are to be issued but we expect them to be almost just the same as before. For those who didn’t make it, here’s your chance!
For the dozens of you wanting to know what’s what…
As earlier reported, Congress agreed on a version for the extension already and submitted it to the President.
Under the Constitution, the President may 1) veto (cancel) the bill or 2) certain portions of it OR 3) sign it OR 4) not do anything.
For 1, if the entire bill is vetoed, no more amnesty. Although the Dept. of Finance already expressed willingness to extend the program given the target collection in amnesty taxes for availment was not met.
For 2, this is highly unlikely since the only major provision is the extension of the program PLUS the removal of the Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement/Decision as a requirement for payment of the taxes.
As many of you and our clients have experienced, it is hard to get papers going around this pandemic. So if ever, the President may veto that portion and hopefully approve the rest.
For 3 and 4, same effect. If he signs it, it becomes law. If he doesn’t do anything, it passes into law 30 days after submission to him anyway.
So what now?
We wait.
Since Congress submitted it late May, the bill has 30 days to lapse into law. Meanwhile, it is likely that after June 14, there will be a period of limbo where the bill will go either into passage around end of June and heaven for those wishing to avail…
or the other place for those who did not or could not avail. :’(
We will keep you posted until then, but meanwhile, why don’t you share your thoughts with us?
Here is the Constitutional provision btw for reference:
Section 27, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution which reads as follows:
Section 27.
(1) Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President. If he approves the same he shall sign it; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the House where it originated, which shall enter the objections at large in its Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law. In all such cases, the votes of each House shall be determined by yeas or nays, and the names of the Members voting for or against shall be entered in its Journal. The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where it originated within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof, otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it.
(2) The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object.
Should it be extended, we will again open our doors for your estate tax amnesty concerns. Thanks and God bless!
The Estate Tax Amnesty program have very distinct features that make it easier than regular estate tax settlement.
First, they won’t question your return as it enjoys the conclusive presumption as true, correct and final. This means that it will not matter whether there are other properties still comprising the estate. Of course the rules still apply but the tax return enjoys a “conclusive presumption of correctness”, to wit,
“Section 7. Presumption of Correctness of the Estate Tax Amnesty Returns. – The Estate Tax Amnesty Returns shall be conclusively presumed as true, correct, and final upon filing thereof, and shall be deemed complete upon full payment of the amount due.”
What is a conclusive presumption?
In the case of MATILDE MENCIANO et al, v. PAZ NERI SAN JOSE. G.R. No. L-1967. May 28, 1951, the syllabus stated,
“The provisions of Rule 123, section 68(c) on conclusive presumption are so clear that they do not require interpretation or construction, but only application.”
We therefore submit that the documents you present are no longer subject to interpretation or construction but only application.
A second feature is that there is no need for an accountant’s certification regarding the estate’s computation if the estate is more than the threshold amount at the time.
A third feature is that there is no need for a certificate of non-holdings from the nearby cities – quite tedious!
