President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos to pay taxes to help the country's economy during the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) National Tax Campaign Kickoff 2023 on Tuesday, Feb 7.

"I encourage the public to pay the correct amount of taxes on time to support the country's economic recovery and expansion so critical at this time," the President said in his speech.

Marcos is confident that Filipinos will 'cooperate, collaborate, and coordinate' to improve the tax collection system.

According to him, paying the right contribution will help the country open more opportunities to grow and provide support as it recovers from the adverse impact of the global health crisis over the years.

He then guaranteed that the tax will be managed and used for a good cause.

"But rest assured that this government will remain committed to managing and utilizing these contributions for the benefit of the country and for every Filipino," said the president.

Moreover, Marcos encouraged everyone to help the government build a 'more equitable, progressive, and prosperous society where every Filipino has a chance to improve their lives'.

In 1997, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled with finality that the Marcoses had to pay the national government P23 billion in estate tax, which only swelled up to P203-B due to non-payment and interest.

BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui vowed to study the alleged P203 billion unpaid estate tax of the Marcos family last year.