Simplify estate tax amnesty, BIR urged

By Maricel V. Cruz

HOUSE Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to simplify the estate tax amnesty application procedure and allow online filing, especially for heirs who are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The proposed two-year new extension of the amnesty on estate taxes is expected to benefit at least one million Filipino families, the Speaker added. Republic Act (RA) 11956 grants Filipinos an extension until June 14, 2025, to fulfill their estate tax obligations after the law expired last June 14.

Last Tuesday, the measure lapsed into law.

Romualdez said the pandemic and the financial and economic difficulties it had caused made it hard for thousands of heirs, especially those in the provinces, to take advantage of the benefits of the current RA 11213, or the Tax Amnesty Act, enacted on Feb. 14, 2019.

“They have already suffered enough because of the pandemic. Let us not make the situation more difficult for them by giving them more time to avail themselves of those benefits,” he said.

The President issued this statement after China renewed its call for the Philippines to remove the grounded warship from Ayungin Shoal, which is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Mr. Marcos added that he would repeal any

Next page pines" that threatened China, so “a water cannon attack was necessary this time.”

CHINA maintained its belligerent stance Wednesday, saying US efforts to boost Philippine military capabilities and rally support from other countries for Manila’s claim over the West Philippine Sea “will lead nowhere.”

The embassy's warning came as China continued to assert its rights—invalidated by a UN tribunal—over the West Philippine Sea, where its coast guard ships fired water cannons at Filipino boats on a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.

Despite growing international isolation on the issue, China justified its actions by saying the US had in the past “even sent over military aircraft and vessels to assist and support the Philip-

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said all reclamation projects in Manila Bay, except for one, have been suspended.

“All reclamation activities are suspended. These are under review except for one that has already been reviewed. We saw problems in the implementation,” the President said during a situation briefing in Bulacan on Monday.

“If these projects push through, a lot of rivers will be affected. The sea in

It said Beijing was taking note of US attempts "to persistently sensationalize the South China Sea issue, extensively hype up [sic] the recent maritime incident and attack China’s legitimate and lawful actions at sea.”

"Justice lies not in the loudness of one's voice, but in the truth and rightness. The US attempts will lead nowhere," it added.

China then urged the US to respect its territorial sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea and the whole South China Sea—a claim that has no legal basis except for its unilateral historical nine-dash line.

Roxas Boulevard will be gone," he said. Mr. Marcos, however, did not identify which project was given the green light to proceed.

Lawmakers have welcomed the President's pronouncement.

“I am happy that Mr. Marcos is suspending the reclamation in Manila Bay. This is good news to us who are afraid of ill effects of reclamation which will cause massive flooding in our cities,” said Senator Cynthia Villar, head of the Senate environment and natural resources committee.