The Senate on Monday, May 24, passed on third and final reading a bill that seeks to extend the estate tax amnesty for two years, or until June 14, 2023.

Senate Bill No. 2208 aims to amend Republic Act No. 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Act of 2019, which grants the public a one-time offer of significantly reduced rates for previous tax delinquencies.

RA 11213 allots two years from the effectivity of the law’s implementing rules and regulations for the executor or administrator of the estate, or his or her legal heirs, to avail of the estate tax amnesty.

The program was supposed to end in April 2020, but because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, the deadline was extended until June 14, 2021.

If passed into law, the deadline would further be extended to June 14, 2023. (READ: #AskTheTaxWhiz: How do I avail of estate tax amnesty?)

The counterpart measure at the House of Representatives was passed in September 2020, but the proposed deadline was set to December 31, 2022. At the time, there was still no Senate version yet.

BusinessWorld reported that House ways and means panel chair Joey Salceda was open to adopting the Senate version of the bill, seeing that there was “no objection significant enough to merit the constitution of a bicameral conference committee.” – Rappler.com