FACT CHECK | Claim that Marcos heirs do not have to pay P203 billion estate tax is false

March 24, 2022 , 07:57 PM

By Mikee Garcia

(March 24, 2022) – A viral post on social media platform Facebook claimed the heirs of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos are not really obligated to pay estate taxes for assets which were not sequestered by the government. The original amount was P23.3 billion but it has ballooned to more than P200 billion.

CLAIM:

A post from the facebook page DDS – Duterte Got Doctors’ Support published the opinion of one Reniel Jay L. Roman who said only 6 percent of the P203 billion is taxable.

He also claimed that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) are still waiting on a decision from the Court of Appeals (CA) before enforcing the collection of unpaid estate taxes.

RATING: FALSE

FACTS:

While Revenue Regulations 12-2018 does impose estate tax at a rate of 6 percent, the post confuses the P203 billion estate tax liability of the Marcos heirs with the P23 billion tax assessment of the Marcos estate. The P23 billion represents 60 percent of the P38 billion worth of Marcos assets which were not confiscated by the government.. In the 1990s, the BIR imposed 60 percent estate taxes depending on amount of assets, but a new law set the estate tax at the uniform 6 percent.

The approximate P203 billion deficiency estate tax of the Marcos family was from the computation made by former senior associate justice Antonio Carpio in his column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer last September.

The tax assessment of the estate of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. by the BIR in 1991 was P23,293,607,638 as cited in the 1997 Supreme Court (SC) decision.

After incurring penalties, this amount has ballooned to around P203.819 billion based on the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1977.

The issue was first brought up by presidential candidate Mayor Isko Moreno, the standard-bearer of Aksyon-Demokratiko.

Moreno said he would implement the 1997 SC decision and collect the unpaid estate taxes of the Marcos family worth P200 billion to use as added aid for Filipinos during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read News5 Digital’s fact-check report: Moreno’s claim that the Marcoses owe P200 billion estate tax is true

Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. refuted the claim, stating the properties are still under litigation at the Sandiganbayan, and that the BIR and the PCGG have agreed to wait for the decision before enforcing any such collection of taxes.

These statements were also used by the post to absolve the Marcos family from their tax liabilities.

But to clarify, the P200 billion ill-gotten wealth forfeiture case at the Sandiganbayan is a separate case against the Marcos family.

The latest forfeiture case was dismissed back in 2019 for lack of sufficient evidence and is currently being appealed by government prosecutors, according to the spokesperson of Marcos Jr., Atty. Vic Rodriguez.

Marcos Jr. and Imelda already raised their estate tax liability case to the SC in 1997 after the CA dismissed their petition for certiorari in 1994.

The BIR’s tax assessment of the Marcos estate is final, executory, and enforceable. This decision can no longer be questioned before any court, nor can any court overturn this decision.

Both the BIR and the PCGG deny having an agreement to wait for a decision on a forfeiture case before any collection enforcement activities.

BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay said in a letter addressed to Aksyon Demokratiko last March 14 that the BIR sent a written demand letter to the Marcos heirs on December 2, 2021 regarding their tax liabilities.

Furthermore, if the Marcoses expect to win at the anti-graft court which would make those properties a legitimate part of the late dictator’s estate, the heirs would be more obligated and mandated by law to pay the P203 billion estate taxes.

Justice Antonio Carpio earlier today in a 1 Sambayan forum on the Marcos family’s P203 billion unpaid estate taxes pointed out Sec. 255 of the NIRC which states that any person who willfully fails to pay such tax can be held criminally liable and be imprisoned for up to 10 years.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

Some political observers believed the P203 billion estate taxes will never be collected if Marcos Jr. wins in the May 2022 polls because of immunity from suit.

All other presidential candidates have agreed in debates, which the front-runner refuses to attend, that this P203 billion should be collected and would be of great help to the country’s budget for pandemic response.

As of writing, the post has received over 25,000 reactions, 5,900 comments, and 27,000 shares. The DDS – Duterte Got Doctors’ Support facebook page has more than 34,000 followers.

News 5 is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, e-mail info@factsfirst.ph.

Message News 5’s Facebook page if you want to have any claims fact-checked. Read our fact-checking policy here.

(MM)

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