Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda (left) and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Rep. Salceda's office, Facebook)

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Joey Salceda is asking Malacañang to certify the proposed Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act as an urgent measure.

Salceda, Albay's 2nd district congressman, made the appeal even as the measure is being deliberated upon in the Senate as Senate Bill (SB) No.2224.

“I think it’s time to modernize the way we administer taxes. Bringing the tax system into the 21st century will be a PBBM (Marcos) legacy. So, respectfully, I request the President to certify this measure as urgent, considering that he has already mentioned this as a priority in both SONAs (State of the Nation Address),” Salceda said.

The House of Representatives has already approved its version of the measure--under House Bill (HB) No.4125, which Salceda principally authored--on third and final reading.

If and when President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. certifies the proposed EOPT Act as urgent, senators would be able to approve the bill on second and third reading on the same day in the Senate plenary.

The EOPT Act will simplify tax filings for small and medium enterprises, allow most tax processes to be done online, shift to an invoice system to accelerate value-added tax (VAT) refunds, and create a special division in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for small and medium taxpayers.

“We are a highly global people, and the EOPT will allow taxpayers abroad, especially OFWs, to update their tax records and even file for TINs (taxpayer identification number) anywhere. Many of them want to invest here, or settle land issues here, but they cannot, because they can’t do their taxes remotely," Salceda said.

Normally, there is a three-day wait period in the approval of a bill between second reading and third reading.

Marcos delivered his second SONA before a joint session at the House of Representatives last July 24.