Senator Imee Marcos said her mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, has denied receiving a demand letter from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) asking her to settle the Marcos family’s supposed P203-billion estate tax liability.
Nevertheless, the Marcos family’s lawyers are now coordinating with the BIR on the matter, according to Imee during a DZMM Teleradyo interview Friday, April 1.
The lady lawmaker from Ilocos Norte said her mother’s lawyers have not received the BIR demand letter asking the Marcos family to settle their P203-billion estate tax liability.
Earlier, President Duterte said that those who have unpaid estate taxes with the BIR should pay. The President did not mention any names.
Imee said her mother, Imelda, and her younger brother, UniTeam presidential candidate and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., are both executors of the Marcos family estate.
‘’So nakikipaguganayan sila sa BIR na makakuha ng kopya at makipag-meeting, matagal na naming hinihingi rin ito e, kasi pati kami nalilito e (So they are now meeting with the BIR to get the letter. We have been asking for it, we are also confused),” Imee said.
The Department of Finance (DOF) and the BIR have said that on December 2021, a written demand letter was transmitted to the Marcos family about the alleged tax deficiency.
“Wala kasing kopyang nakuha yung nanay ko at hinihingi nga yung buong dokumento para upuan na once and for all, kasi nakailang beses na rin kami na nakikisuyo sa kanila na upuan na natin at sumahin ang total (My mother does not have a copy so she has been asking for the whole document so we can sit down on it once and for all. We have pleaded with them several times for a meeting to come up with a total),’’ Imee said.
The issue on the Marcos family’s estate tax was first revealed by presidential candidate Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, who has been demanding a resolution of the unpaid estate taxes.
Stung by criticisms from various sectors, including presidential candidates themselves, the camp of presidential candidate Marcos Jr. has maintained that the estate tax of his family remained unsettled since the properties linked to the case are still under litigation.