Ka Leody: Bongbong batting for MSME tax amnesty ‘just politicking’

Presidential candidate Leody de Guzman on Tuesday said that former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos' proposal to implement a tax amnesty and a tax holiday for small businesses affected by COVID-19 lockdowns is just politicking on his part.

In a statement, the labor leader said Marcos is courting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by lodging a tax relief for them amid the pandemic, but this may further result in loss of funds to address the pandemic and economic crisis.

“Kung totoong nasa puso niya ang mga MSME, bakit hindi niya pinaghain si Imee [Marcos] ng ganitong panukala sa kongreso? At bakit ngayon lang? Dahil ang kanyang sinabi ay pawang pamumulitika lamang,” de Guzman said.

(If the MSMEs are really in his heart, why didn’t he ask Imee to file such a proposal in the Congress? And why just now? Because what he said is just purely politics.)

“Ang kasunod na epekto ng anumang tax amnesty o tax holiday ay kabawasan sa pondo para tugunan ang pandemya at krisis sa kabuhayan. Kung babawasan pa ang tax base, itutulak nito ang gobyerno sa pangungutang,” he added.

(The effect of any tax amnesty or tax holiday is a reduction in the funds to address the pandemic and economic crisis. If the tax base is further reduced, it will push the government to loan money.)

As a solution to the plight of the MSMEs, De Guzman suggested taking the funds directly from the rich or those who have the capacity to pay.

“Buwisan ang mga bilyonaryo. Bawiin ang yaman sa mga mandarambong. Habulin at pagbayarin ang mga tax evader, tulad ng pamilya Marcos na may P203 bilyong pisong bayarin sa estate tax,” he said.

(Tax the billionaires. Recover the wealth of the corrupt. Have the tax evaders pay, like the Marcos family with a P203 billion estate tax debt.)

De Guzman was pertaining to the P203.819 billion which Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s heirs owe the Philippine government, which Aksyon Demokratiko chairman Ernest Ramel Jr. has been urging Marcos Jr. to pay.

Marcos' spokesperson Victor Rodriguez on Saturday claimed that the noise about the issue is "all politics."

De Guzman said that the Marcoses should not to wait for the estate tax amnesty deadline to pay the said billions in debt.

“Wag na nilang hintayin ang estate tax amnesty deadline na June 2023. Sobrang pabor sa mga angkan ng mayayaman ang sistema sa pagbubuwis. Flat rate na sa 6% ang estate tax dahil sa TRAIN 1. Nakailang ulit na ang extension sa pagbabayad ng estate tax. Sa ordinaryong tao, isang araw lang ng delay sa tax payments, penalty agad!” he added.

(They should no longer wait for the estate tax amnesty deadline in June 2023. The taxation system is very favorable to the rich. The estate tax is now at a flat rate of 6% due to TRAIN 1. The extension in the payment of estate tax has also been repeated several times. For ordinary people, they have them pay a penalty immediately when they just got delayed to pay their tax payments for a day.)

Rodriguez previously claimed the pieces of property which were the subject of the tax case were still under litigation to which the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) had an agreement on.

However, the assertion that Marcos Jr.’s family's tax liabilities are under discussion was rebuffed by the PCGG itself.

BIR commissioner Caesar Dulay had also confirmed that he had already sent a written demand to the family of the late dictator last year regarding their tax liabilities.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the Marcos camp regarding De Guzman’s statement. — BM, GMA News