High-ranking House of Representatives members are seeking a two-year extension to the availment of the estate tax amnesty, as provided for under Republic Act (RA) No.11213 or the "Tax Amnesty Act".

Leading the filing of House Bill (HB) No.7409 was House Speaker and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos, Committee on Accounts Chairperson and Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, and Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre were also among the bill’s authors.

The estate tax amnesty under RA No.11213 provides taxpayers the immunity from the payment of estate taxes as well as any increments and additions thereto, and civil, criminal, and administrative cases and penalties under the 1997 Tax Code.

The law, enacted on Feb. 14, 2019, covers the estates of decedents who died on or before Dec. 31, 2017, with or without assessments duly issued before, and whose estate taxes have remained unpaid or have accrued as of Dec. 31, 2017.

Under the law, the executor or administrator of the estate, or the legal heirs, transferees or beneficiaries have two years to avail of such estate tax amnesty or until June 15, 2021.

"However, the Covid-19 pandemic precipitated severe contractions in economic activity and caused job losses and closed businesses. Many of the taxpayers failed to comply with the requirements to avail of the tax amnesty due to limited movement and resources," read the explanatory note of HB No.7409.

"Thus, RA No.11213 was amended by RA No.11569 to provide an extension of the availment of the estate tax amnesty from June 15, 2021 to June 14, 2023," it noted.

"While the country is taking steps to heal from the pandemic-driven recession, challenges remain for Filipinos to achieve full and equitable recovery, especially with the emergence of high inflation," the authors of the measure said.

According to them, families with unsettled estate taxes still struggled to comply with the documentary requirements and failed to benefit from the substantial decrease in tax liabilities provided under RA No.11213.

"For this purpose, further extending the availment period of the estate tax amnesty for another two years, within June 15, 2023 until June 14, 2025, will definitely alleviate the burden on those who would want to avail of the amnesty but are still transitioning from financial difficulties to post-pandemic recovery," the authors said.

"Through this bill, those with unsettled or unpaid estate taxes are encouraged to clear themselves of their obligations, transfer the property to their rightful heirs, and at the same time, help the government increase its tax collections," they said.

The  2019 Tax Amnesty Act granted taxpayers a one-time opportunity to settle tax obligations through an estate tax amnesty program that extends tax reliefs to estates with outstanding tax estate tax liabilities.