The incoming chief of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday vowed to collect the estate tax from the Marcos family once she receives the correct computation, which is estimated to be PHP 203 billion.
Former Deputy Commissioner Lilia Guillermo, who was earlier appointed by President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the next BIR chief, made the statement in a television interview with another media outlet.
"Please give me time to look at the documents; how much we are talking about? We don’t know if it has really reached P203 billion. Maybe if that is really the amount, imagine, it will help really collections of the BIR," Guillermo said in a mix of English and Filipino.
"Hindi ko alam kung talagang P200 billion ‘yan, and maybe if that’s really the amount, imagine it will help really collections of BIR," she added.
In 1997, the Supreme Court (SC) issued a ruling demanding the Marcoses pay P203 billion in estate tax, a decision that the family contested through litigation and, in turn, delayed the BIR’s collection efforts.
According to Guillermo, current Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor and incoming Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno shares her position on the matter.
"I'm going to tell [Marcos] that if the BIR really has to collect. I'll say, 'you won't pay this amount, it's the estate. Can you be a role model?' The Marcoses will pay their taxes because they comply with the law," she said.
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio previously said that the PHP 203-billion tax would be "gone forever" once Marcos sits as President.
"[If elected, Marcos] will appoint the BIR Commissioner. Will the BIR commissioner send him a notice of payment for the estate tax? That commissioner will be fired because the president has supervision and control over the entire executive department," Carpio said back in March.
