Press Release
February 12, 2018

To encourage tax compliance, boost collections
TAX AMNESTY A WIN-WIN FOR GOVT, TAXPAYERS -ANGARA

Senator Sonny Angara said the planned massive tax amnesty would encourage taxpayers to properly declare their assets and settle their taxes, which will lead to a boost in government revenues to fund its programs and services.

"This measure will encourage those in the formal and informal sectors to legitimize and settle their unpaid taxes without fear of civil, criminal or administrative penalties. This, I believe, is a win-win scenario for the government and for the taxpayers to have a clean slate," said Angara, chairman of the ways and means committee, who presided the hearing on amnesty bills on Monday.

Under the proposed bills, all unpaid national internal revenues taxes including value-added tax and excise taxes collected by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will be covered by the amnesty.

Taxpayers who wish to avail of the benefits of tax amnesty will only be required to pay 5% of his or her total net worth instead of the total tax deficiency.

According to the Department of Finance (DOF), the proposed general tax amnesty is expected to raise P26 billion. This revenue will augment the funding for the "Build, Build, Build" program.

"The additional collection from tax amnesty will lead to higher internal revenue allotment for our local government units without having to raise taxes. Mas lalaki ang pondo para sa mga probinsya, munisipalidad at lungsod sa bansa," Angara noted.

Moreover, the tax amnesty aims to clear up cases in all tax dockets in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), BOC, as well as in the courts.

The bill, however, excludes those with pending cases involving unexplained or unlawfully acquired wealth, violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, pending cases for tax evasion and other criminal offenses, and tax cases subject of final and executory judgement by the courts.

"We hope this amnesty is the last--at least for the next few decades. If we keep granting amnesties every few years, it's a sign that our tax system is not working," the senator said.

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