New tax amnesty bill addressing vetoed items filed in House

A BILL addressing parts of the general tax amnesty law vetoed by Malacañang was filed at the House of Representatives, one of the original bill’s authors said.

“President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte’s position is clear. He will support a general tax amnesty as long as it is accompanied by a relaxation of the bank secrecy laws and the introduction of automatic exchange of information. I took the same position when I filed a bill on tax amnesty in 2018,” Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo E. Cua, vice chair of the ways and means committee, said in a statement Thursday.

House Bill No. 9153, or the General Tax Amnesty Act, proposes to grant amnesty on all unpaid taxes in 2017 and prior years. The bill contains provisions that remedy the President’s veto.

Congress is currently on break from Feb. 9 to May 19 to make way for the midterm polls on May 13. Session will resume on May 20 and will officially close on June 7, which means Congress has three weeks to work on remaining legislative matters.

The measure proposes to grant immunity from prosecution to any person, natural or juridical, that pays an amnesty tax rate of 2% based on total assets as of Dec. 31, 2017, or an amnesty rate of 5% of net worth or P75,000, whichever is higher, based on the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth as of Dec. 31, 2017.

The bill proposes to charge corporations 5% of their total net worth or P1 million for corporations with a subscribed capital of more than P50 million; 5% or P500,000 for those with a subscribed capital of P20 million to P50 million; 5% or P250,000 for those with a subscribed capital of P5 million to P20 million; and 5% or P100,000 for those with subscribed capital of below P5 million.

“I hope that my colleagues in the House of Representatives and Senate can reconsider their position on the relaxation of bank secrecy laws and introduction of automatic exchange of information. The public has been patiently waiting for the general tax amnesty so that they can transition to the new tax regime with a clean slate,” Mr. Cua also said.

Sought for comment, Majority Leader Fredenil H. Castro of the 2nd district of Capiz told BusinessWorld in a phone message Thursday, “It will have to start on the Committee Level. From there, it will be uphill because

we only have few session days left, we have to surmount the problem on quorum… before the House Reps can approve it on 3rd Reading.

But, with the cooperation and support of the majority members, we can try.” —