Party-list group Bayan Muna has filed a resolution initiating a probe into the P203-billion alleged unpaid estate tax of Marcos heirs, to be led by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Bayan Muna Reps. Eufemia Cullamat, Carlos Zarate, and Ferdinand Gaite filed House Resolution (HR) 2553 dated April 12, 2022,which asked the panel the probe the unpaid estate taxes.
“In the case of Ferdinand (Bongbong) Marcos II versus Court of Appeals, et.al. (General Register No. 120880, 5 June 1997), the Supreme Court had already factually and legally affirmed the findings of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Special Tax Audit Team that investigated and examined the tax liabilities of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos (Sr.) including his family, and cronies. Such findings, released on July 26, 1991, found that the estate of the late dictator had a tax deficiency amounting to P23,293,607,638.00,” read Bayan Muna’s resolution, citing Supreme Court (SC) G.R. 120880.
Originally valued at P23 billion, the unpaid taxes are estimated to now be around P203 billion as a result of incurring interest.
Co-administrators of the Marcos estate include 2022 presidential candidate Marcos Jr. and his mother Imelda Marcos.
“It has been around 25 years since the BIR assessed the estate tax deficiencies on the Marcos estate in 1997 and more than two decades since the SC ruled with finality on the estate tax deficiency in 1999...There is a need to probe the failure to collect the estate tax deficiencies of the Marcos estate now estimated to have ballooned to P203 billion, an amount that, if collected, could help fund much-needed aid and social services for the people, especially as the country continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic,” the resolution continued.
According to former SC Justice Antonio Carpio, the Marcos heirs can be held liable for the P203 billion estate tax.
The BIR has also begun auctioning off properties of the Marcos estate given that the Marcos heirs have yet to pay the estate dues.
Meanwhile, former BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares has also highlighted that even if Marcos Jr. wins in the 2022 elections, heirs of the Marcos estate would still be held liable for the unpaid estate taxes.