Gov't eyes general tax amnesty, online gambling levy in 2025

As revenue-raising general tax amnesty and online gambling tax measures are being studied by the Marcos administration for enactment this year, Fitch Solutions' unit BMI has maintained its forecast that the government will exceed its widened fiscal deficit of 5.5 percent of economic output.

- By DERCO ROSAL

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto stated during the Economic Journalists' Association of the Philippines (EJAP) Economic Forum 2025 on Monday, Aug. 11., that new taxes remain off the table, but a general tax amnesty and online gambling tax measures are now being crafted.

"While no new tax proposals are on the table, refined measures-such as the rationalization of the mining fiscal regime-are awaiting enactment. We are also studying the possibility of enacting general tax amnesty and online gambling tax laws," Recto said.

These measures, particularly general tax amnesty, will be pushed for legislation this year, Recto said. However, these would still need approval from the President or the Cabinet.

Clear revenue collection targets for the planned tax amnesty are still unavailable, Recto said, but it will cover taxes handled by the country's main tax agencies-the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Recto clarified that the amnesty measure is different from the bill previously passed by Congress but later vetoed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, noting that this is a "simple" general tax amnesty bill.