26/04/2026
๐ฉ The Estate Tax Does More Harm Than Good. Are Lawmakers Getting Rid of It Really?
Your parents worked their whole lives to build a home for you.
Then they pass away โ and the BIR says you owe 6% just to keep it.
That's estate tax. And right now, there's a serious push in Congress to ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ it entirely.
โ๏ธ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐
Multiple House Bills have been filed to abolish the 6% estate tax โ including HB 6535 by Rep. Rachel del Mar, HB 6553 by Rep. Adrian Salceda, HB 6563 by Rep. Nat Oducado, HB 6702 by Rep. Coco Yap, and HB 7561 by Reps. Eric and Edvic Yap.
There isn't only one, several lawmakers are pushing for its abolishment.
๐ธ ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ?
The BIR only collects around โฑ14 billion per year from estate tax. Sounds like a lot โ but Rep. Salceda's office estimates that delayed estate transfers cost the Philippine economy around โฑ78 billion annually, more than 5x what the government actually collects.
Mas malaki pa ang damage kaysa sa nakokolekta.
Meanwhile, Salceda pointed out that wealthy families can easily restructure assets through corporations and holding companies, while ordinary Filipino families have no way to do the same. So sino ang talagang nahihirapan? The everyday family trying to keep their Nanay and Tatay's house.
๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐?
Under HB 6553, inherited property would only be taxed when it is eventually sold, through a "Deferred Succession Component" added to the existing capital gains tax. Meaning, walang babayaran agad. Tax only kicks in when the heir actually sells the property and has cash in hand.
It's presented as a much fairer system. But still, the inheritance will be taxed.
๐ ๐ช๐ฒ'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ
Countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Brunei have already abolished their own estate or inheritance taxes.
โ ๏ธ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ
These bills are still ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ด โ they haven't been signed into law yet. As of now, the 6% estate tax is still very much in effect. So if you have pending estate settlement, don't wait around.
These are still being deliberated. But your penalties keep piling up the longer you wait.
But the momentum is real. And this could change everything for Filipino families who just want to keep what their parents left behind โ without being penalized for it.
What do you think about these proposals? Do they actually solve the estate tax problem, or do they just put it in a different packaging? Drop your thoughts below.
