The buzzword these days in social media is estate tax and the so-called P203B the Marcoses owe to the BIR in particular and the government in general.
If Yorme Isko or Manny becomes President, they expressed intention to collect the money owed by the Marcoses to the government and use it in the government’s post-covid recovery program.
But the questions are: Do the Marcoses really have to issue a bank check or pay in cash to the BIR if indeed they owe P203B estate tax? What is BBM’s complicity to the issue?
I am no expert on this so let us read the FB post of Atty. Bruce Rivera who clarified that he is not a Marcos apologist but the hullabaloo surrounding the unpaid estate taxes has become so unfair, it needs a good tongue lashing.
In the same FB post, Atty. Rivera also mentioned Yorme Isko and asked a hypothetical question how he feels if his children will be asked to pay estate taxes in the event of his passing since he heard “rumor” he allegedly owned Divisoria?
Of course Yorme Isko does not own Divisoria. I suspect Atty. Rivera said this to drive home his point that the Marcoses are just rumored to own some of these contested properties and yet they were asked to pay estate taxes. At one point in Atty. Rivera’s post, he mentioned Imee Marcos swearing they do not own a certain real estate and now they are already in the hands of certain rich families.
You may now read Atty. Rivera’s easy to follow explanation of estate tax for your education.
ESTATE TAX AND BBM
I am not a Marcos apologist but the hulabaloo regarding unpaid estate tax has become so unfair, it needs tongue lashing.
An estate is a juridical person that serves as an extension of the personality of a dead person for the purpose of collecting and paying debts and distributing what remains thereof to the legal or compulsory heirs. Basahin ang kaso ni Limjuco vs. The Estate of Pedro Fragante.
What is now the implication of this?
First, the estate has the duty to pay taxes. The estate which are the property left by Ferdinand E. Marcos pays for it. Not the heirs. Not Imelda, not Imee. Not BBM. Because before they can even have the properties transferred to their names, taxes have to be settled.
Second, when the state collects estate taxes on a dead man’s properties, it presupposes that the property subject of the tax is OWNED by the deceased. Hence, if the state has assessed estate taxes, it is deemed an admission by the state that Marcos, the father is the rightful owner. Problem is, there are so many properties alleged to be owned by FM but disputed by the government. Hindi naman siguro tama kung pababayaran ang estate tax ng isang bahay na kay Marcos daw tapos may adverse claim na nakaw na yaman ito. Some of the properties are real estate that Imee knows they never owned and are already in the hands of other rich families.
Two points. If indeed ownership is no longer in question, the state can easily LEVY or take the said properties. And the estate tax should have been considered PAID.
Problem is, even if the SC has ruled that FM estate owes estate taxes, the BIR could not levy it because the ownership is disputed. And even if may assessment na, the period to default will only begin to run once ownership is finally settled.
And what is BBM complicity in all of these?
WALA.
He is just the son, legal heir and administrator. Wala siyang utang na estate tax kasi ang estate ni late president ang may responsibilidad magbayad nun. Kung bakit hindi makolekta at hindi maremata ng gobyerno sa matagal na panahon ay dapat tinatanong sa BIR at hindi ginagawang issue kay BBM at sa pamilya. At sa mga nagsasabiing bayaran na lang, ito ang ibabalik kong tanong.
Kayo ba, babayaran mo ang buwis sa isang bahay na sinasabi ng gobyerno ay hindi sa yo? Kung oo ang sagot mo, tanga ka lang.
At itatanong ko kay Isko, paano kung sisingilin ang anak mo ng gobyerno ng estate tax sa Divisoria after ka matigok dahil ikaw daw may ari, matutuwa ba ang kaluluwa mo?
The reason BBM popularity is growing can be explained in very simple terms.
If you see a man kicked, punched, stabbed, choked and mob lynched to the point of absurdity that it is beyond the notion of retribution for the sins of his family, it will go to a level of oppression that will force those who could not care less to speak up and protect this man.
Because humanity has no political color.
Reaction?
Source: Bruce Rivera
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