Bahandi Group lectures for MCLE on Tax Updates

During the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Program offered by the University of Cebu (UC) College of Law, Atty. Maria Concepcion “Marichu” Ybañez-Phua, the Managing Consultant of Bahandi Consultancy and Management, Inc. and also the Managing Partner of Ybañez-Phua Ong Liao and Yu Law Office, was invited as one of the speakers/lecturers of the said MCLE Program, which is accredited by the Supreme Court and also a requirement for the sixth MCLE compliance period.

The MCLE is required for all lawyers to ensure that throughout their career, they keep abreast with the law and jurisprudence, maintain the ethics of the profession, and enhance the standards of the practice of law.

Last April 22, 2017, Atty. Phua conducted a two-hour lecture on “Transparency in Tax Incentives Management” and also a one-hour lecture on “Taxation of Property Transfers”. For the first topic, she discussed the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 10708, otherwise known as the “Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA)”. She also discussed about the expanded benefits and privileges granted to persons with disability (PWDs). She then concluded her first topic by providing an overview of the most-awaited proposed Estate Tax Amnesty Law, which attracted a lot of interest from the participants who may have clients that will surely benefit from the proposed law.

According to Atty. Phua, whose law practice focuses on tax, corporate and estate planning services, the proposed Estate Tax Amnesty Law aims (1) to increase tax collection by granting amnesty in the payment of outstanding estate taxes; (2) to promote the settlement of estates; and (3) to free-up properties of unsettled estates, with the end view of generating financial transactions and stimulating economic activity.

For her second topic, Atty. Phua shared her expertise on the tax treatment of various property transfers, such as sale, donation, or transfer by succession of real and personal properties as well as shares of stock. The participants learned from her discussion that the tax treatment of property transfers depends on several factors, such as the mode of transfer, classification of the property (whether ordinary asset or capital asset), location, and situs, among other matters.

After her three-hour lecture, Atty. Phua was given the opportunity to address and respond to the questions raised by the lawyers who attended the MCLE seminar.