BIR to run after heirs for payment of estate taxes

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Tuesday said it would run after the heirs and beneficiaries of dead people to ensure payment of estate or inheritance tax. In a statement, BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres said the state had been losing billions of revenues from estate taxes. The National Statistics Office recorded 1.2 million deaths from 2004 to 2006, but based on BIR records, only 85,872 estate tax returns had been filed from 2007 to 2009. Estate tax is imposed on inherited property and assessed on the net value of a deceased persons' estate before distribution to the heirs. Tan-Torres said the BIR would monitor compliance with the law on estate tax, which for years had not been given much attention. Estate tax collections reached P2.38 billion in 2007 to 2009. Tan-Torres said the BIR expects to collect P10.7 billion once compliance is properly monitored. “There is a large potential to increase the number of estate tax returns filed, once these tax potentials are tapped," he said. Tan-Torres has issued an order for the agency to link with public and private institutions to ensure compliance. Under the memo, the Revenue District Office will notify the decedent’s family of state requirements, including due dates for filing the death notice and estate tax return, as well as payment of the tax. — GMANews.TV