Former Senator Urged Senate to Prioritize Bill Extending Estate Tax Amnesty in the Philippines

Former senator and now House Deputy Speaker Ralph G. Recto called for the prioritization of the bill extending the estate tax amnesty period for two years to his colleagues in the “smaller House” last Sunday.

Recto believes that “former classmates can pass what is a simple bill” without waiting for the current administration to see the urgency of certifying the measure.

Recto noted that the “clock is ticking” following the expiration of the period to avail of the benefits under the estate tax amnesty law. Nonetheless, Recto hoped for an extension “because in legislation, a month is an eternity: We can pass it.”

In anticipation of the House’s action, the Senate can start discussing the bill so it is primed when the House bill arrives. Moreover, the bill moving the deadline for the estate tax amnesty to June 14, 2025, has already passed the House Ways and Means Committee.

Recto cited that the bill hurdling the House Ways and Means Committee paves the way for plenary debates, “whose outcome, its passage, is a certainty.”

During his time in the Senate, Recto was one of the authors of the Republic Act (RA) 11213. This RA erased the penalties and cut the rates for meeting estate tax obligations.

However, Congress had to pass RA 11569, which extended the amnesty period by two years to June 14, 2023, as the pandemic coincided with the period to avail of the one-time tax relief.

Recto stated that “families will save billions while the government will earn billions” by extending the window of opportunity again by two years.

Recto added that extending the estate tax amnesty period is a “lifeline to a government scrounging for revenues and an act of kindness” to senior citizens whose vulnerability during the height of the pandemic prevented them from availing of the amnesty.