MANILA - Holiday flea markets first and now the dead; there appears to be little the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will not look into to ensure that the proper taxes are paid.

After unveiling its "SanTAX Claus" program -- focused on the numerous tiangges that flourish during the holiday season -- the BIR will next year implement the "Rest in Peace" scheme in a bid to increase estate tax collections.

The program, said acting BIR commissioner Joel L. Tan-Torres, "will ensure that the relatives of the people who died will comply with estate tax [requirements]."

"This would require coordination with hospitals, cemeteries and memorial parks," he added.

Mr. Tan-Torres, who took over the bureau just this month after Sixto S. Esquivias IV abruptly quit due to lackluster collections, said the program was conceptualized following the realization that very little estate tax was being collected.

"You will be surprised. [The contribution of estate tax to overall revenues is] minuscule," he told reporters.

An estate tax is a levy imposed on right to transfer a deceased’s estate to his or her lawful heirs and beneficiaries. The amount depends on the net value of the property or assets to be inherited.

BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson M. Aspe, in a telephone interview, claimed that some people evade the payment of estate taxes by not submitting the required returns.

"There are those who do not file the required returns. We have to ensure that they pay the right taxes," he said yesterday.

The BIR, said Mr. Tan-Torres, still has to estimate how much will be generated from the new program.

"We still have to quantify that," he said.

Finance department data show that revenues from transfer taxes, which include the estate tax, totalled just P1 billion as of September. But as this also includes commercial transfers, the actual estate tax take is lower.

Asked to comment, Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said they would be supporting the program as it "would mean an improvement of tax administration."

"They (the BIR) should consider anything that would boost revenues," he told BusinessWorld.

Mr. Tan-Torres said the "Rest in Peace" program would be implemented through a revenue regulation (RR) to be released next year.

"Essentially, we will be on top of everything. Once we secure the records of memorial parks and local governments, we can monitor [estate transfers]. The relatives will be given time to file their tax returns," he said in Filipino.

"We can require them (hospitals and memorial parks) to provide us records through an RR ... We will issue it next year.

"Rest in Peace" is one of the initiatives being planned by BIR to meet its P875.1-billion target for next year.

Other measures include the boosting of cooperation with the Justice department to strengthen cases against tax evaders, regulations to minimize losses from revenue-eroding measures like the Tourism Act and the Personal Equity Retirement Account Law, electronic sharing of third party tax information with state agencies, training programs, continuation of programs such as Oplan Kandado (involving the padlocking of erring establishments), and the imposition of 5% withholding tax on campaign paraphernalia suppliers.

The BIR, which accounts for more than 75% of state tax revenues, is mandated to collect P798.5 billion this year.

Its take as of October was P612 billion, and officials have said the 2009 target would not be met due to legislated tax cuts, the economic downturn and the impact of recent storms.