Napoleslamentsdaughter’sindictment
In its Aug. 15
resolution, which was released only on
Thursday, the Department of Justice
(DOJ) recommended the filing of
criminal charges against Jeane Catherine
for her alleged failure to pay P17.9
million in taxes in 2011 and 2012.
The DOJ said Napoles’ daughter should
have remitted taxes to the government
after she bought a $1.28-million
condominium in Los Angeles, California,
and two agricultural lots in Bayambang,
Pangasinan.
JusticeinhibitsfromCorona’staxevasioncase
. Corona is facing a
tax liability of P120.5 million for
violation of Sections 255 (failure to file
income tax return) and 254 (attempt to
evade payment of taxes).
Based on the BIR complaint, Corona did
not declare all his assets in his Statement
of Assets Liabilities and Networth.
Aside from the bank deposits, he also did
not declare two real properties he
acquired during his stint in government:
a condominium unit at the Columns,
along Ayala Avenue that he bought for
P3.6 million in 2004 and a property in
Fort Bonifacio that he bought for P9.16
million in 2005.
After examining Corona’s bank records
and compared it with his networth, BIR
Commissioner Kim Henares said they
discovered a substantial disparity
between the acquisition cost of the
properties declared in his SALNs and
the cost declared in the certificates
authorizing registrations.
Corona was removed from office through
impeachment in 2012.
ZorenLegaspiblamesaccountantforerroneous
taxfiles
Actor Zoren Legaspi put the
blame on his former accountant for any
incorrect filing of taxes, while
complaining of not getting due process
before the Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR) slapped him with a P4.45 million
tax evasion case.
Legaspi with his lawyer Ricardo Ribo
appeared before the Department of
Justice (DOJ) Friday to formally deny
the tax evasion charges filed against him
last month.
In his counter-affidavit, Legaspi said he
never intended to evade paying taxes
and offered to settle any tax deficiency.
“For purposes of tax compliance, my
former accountant was the one who
prepared and filed my 2010 and 2012
ITRs (income tax returns), as I am not
capable of accomplishing its various
official forms,” the actor-director said in
his nine-page formal reply.
“Obviously, ordinary taxpayers such as
(myself) rely on the work of the
accountant and have no actual
knowledge of the inaccuracy or falsity of
its return,” he added.
“If ever there was a mistake on (my)
part in providing data therefore, there
never was any fraudulent attempt to
deceive or an intentional commission of
fraud,” he continued.
Legaspi went on to question the BIR’s
computation, saying it was “utterly
discriminatory, unfair and
unreasonable” that the tax agency
recorded that he paid P973,817.28 in
withholding tax when he actually paid
P1,367,165.27 for that year.
He also pointed out that he paid the
corresponding value-added tax
P270,201.43 that year.
But Legaspi said that “without
admitting any liability,” he is willing to
pay any tax deficiency so long as this is
computed according to existing laws and
regulations.
The actor said the BIR did not give him
the chance to air his side before it filed
the criminal complaint for tax evasion.
He said the complaint was filed before
the DOJ on May 8, just a day after he
received a letter from the BIR ordering
him to submit his book of accounts and
other documents.
The actor said he has no past record of
having evaded taxes, pointing out that
he was among the BIR’s top individual
taxpayers in 2010 and 2011.
DOJapprovestaxevasioncasevsCorona
daughter
Corona’s daughter was charged with
violating section 254 of the National
Internal Revenue Code or attempting to
evade or defeat taxes in 2010 and
violating section 255 or failing to file an
income tax return for the same year.
She added that the BIR was basing its
complaint on “unfounded assumptions”
that since she brought a property in
2010, she earned income that same year.
“The purchase by a taxpayer of a
property in a given year does not show,
more so establish that he/she earned or
received taxable income much less, that
he/she earned such taxable income in the
same year the property was
purchased,” Carla said.
CedricLee,wifereplytotaxcharge
MANILA,
Philippines—Businessman Cedric Lee
and his estranged wife on Thursday filed
in the Department of Justice their
separate replies to the P194-million tax
evasion case filed against them by the
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
The couple described the charge against
them as “trumped up.”
Lee, in his three-page counteraffidavit,
said it was the chief accountant of his
company, Izumo Contractors Inc., who
prepared the corporate income tax
returns and financial statements from
2006 to 2009.
He said he did not have personal
knowledge of the disbursement
vouchers, the actual revenues collected
per billings and the issuances of official
receipts and BIR forms by the
authorities of the local government units
where Izumo operates—San Juan,
Pasay and Butuan cities; Tagudin town,
Ilocos Sur province; and Davao del Sur
province.
Lee said it was Izumo’s chief
accountant, Susan Nace, who prepared
the working papers for the financial
statements of the company for audit
purposes and filed the corporate income
tax returns.
“I heavily relied in the trust and
confidence reposed on our accountant
who had been employed with the
corporation for several years,” he said.
Judy Lee, on the other hand, said she
had nothing to do with the tax case
because it was only in 2012 that Lee
assigned a 20-percent share of the
company’s stocks to her to make her a
member of Izumo’s board of directors.
“The fact of the matter is I actually do
not own those shares, as they were just
assigned to me by Lee in order to qualify
me as a director because the slots for the
members of the board of directors could
not be filled up and I was one of those
chosen by [him] to fill up one director
position,” she said in her four-page
reply.
Judy said she and Lee had been
separated since 2005 and since then, she
has had no dealings with him, his
businesses or his companies.
“Cedric Lee can very well confirm all the
foregoing facts, for it is the truth,” she
said.
BIRfilestaxevasioncomplaintvsManila-based
contractor
MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday
filed with the Department of Justice
(DOJ) a tax evasion complaint against a
Manila-based contractor.
Charged with violating Section 255 of
the Tax Code is Benedicto Pasco
Caguimbal, owner of Caguimbal
electrical works.
Based on the BIR complaint,
Caguimbal’s tax deficiency for 2010 is in
the aggregate amount of P6.45 million,
inclusive of increments, consisting of
P4.56 million in Income Tax (IT) and
P1.89 million in Value Added Tax
(VAT).
Outgoing PMA head seeks
dismissal of tax evasion raps
MANILA, Philippines—Outgoing Philippine
Medical Association (PMA) President Dr.
Leo Olarte has asked the Department of
Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the tax evasion
complaint filed against him by the Bureau
of Internal Revenue (BIR).
In his counter-affidavit, Olarte accused the
BIR of dereliction of duty for its failure to
send him notices and letters informing him
about the need to reconcile receipts and
correct the amount of taxes he had paid.
Olarte has been slapped with a tax
evasion complaint for willful attempt to
evade payment of income tax and value
added tax and for several counts of
deliberate failure to file his annual Income
Tax Returns for 2006 to 2012.
The BIR said its investigators discovered
that Olarte had derived compensation
income concurrently from two or more
employers and from the exercise of his
profession for the said period amounting to
P569,825.88 in 2006, P221, 206.22 in
2007, P226,186.90 in 2008, P774,990.59
in 2009, P715,515.62 in 2010,
P992,298.84 in 2011 and P1,919,576.01
in 2012. His tax liability is P2.93 million.
Despite the said income, the BIR said
Olarte, who is not only a doctor but is also
a lawyer, failed to file his ITRs and VAT
returns, and, consequently failed to pay
the taxes for the said period.
But Olarte said the BIR did not even
conduct a formal investigation to support
its claim of fraud.
Goldtraderfacestaxevasioncomplaint
MANILA, Philippines—
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
on Thursday filed before the
Department of Justice a tax evasion
complaint against a gold trader.
Jimmy Bie Chua is facing five counts of
attempt to evade or defeat tax and five
counts of wilful failure to file his annual
Income Tax Returns and pay the correct
taxes for 2005 to 2009 estimated at P2.7
billion, BIR chief Kim Henares said.
Chua’s name was included in the list
given to the BIR on Nov. 30, 2010 by
the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
containing the names of individuals who
had gold and silver sales transactions
with the BSP from 2005 to 2009.
Documents obtained by the BIR showed
that Chua sold to BSP refined gold and
silver worth P769.54 million in 2005;
P856.90 million in 2006; P442.30 million
in 20077; P250.33 million in 2008 and
P833.80 million in 2009 for a total sale of
P3.152 billion.
The BIR was able to obtain from the
BSP a copy of letters of delivery and
sale detailing the number of pieces and
the weight of the gold and silver that he
was able to sell.
He was assessed with a tax deficiency
broken down as follows: P755.05 million
in 2005; P785.95 million in 2006;
P377.32 million in 2007; P197.48 million
in 2008 and P604.67 million in 2009
totalling P2.75 billion aggregate tax
deficiency.
No TINs, no taxes: BIR goes
after motels
MANILA, Philippines—
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
is going after motels in the country that
are apparently not remitting taxes.
Without giving away names, the BIR
said 14 motels were so far found to have
no tax identification numbers (TINs).
This meant they were not registered
taxpayers.
The number may increase as the tax
bureau continues with its audit of the
motel industry.
“Based on preliminary reviews, a total
of 14 have no TINs,” the BIR said in its
latest weekly “Tax Watch” campaign.
Under the campaign, the BIR publishes
tax payments of enterprises belonging to
certain industries on a weekly basis
through newspaper ads. The objective is
to discourage tax delinquency.
These motels were the following: BaliHai Travelodge, Eurotel, Nice Hotel and
Town & Country in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
The BIR noted the innate difficulty in
auditing tax compliance of motels,
adding that unlike other businesses,
motels were usually not asked by their
customers to issue receipts.
Given this backdrop, the BIR wants
motel operators to accurately report
their incomes and pay the corresponding
taxes.
The BIR, likewise, published the toptaxpaying motels and hotels in the same
print ad.
Mariposa declared the biggest amount of
tax liability for 2012 at P73.51 million.
The four others constituting the top-5
paying motels were: Anito Lodge with
P15.25 million, Microtel Inn & Suites
with P9.82 million, Victoria Court with
P7.17 million and Hotel Sogo with P2.36
million.
MetroManila‘lechon’sellersfaceBIRroasting
To be sure, lechon sellers
raked in huge profits during the last
holiday season. They can cut the
celebration, because the taxman is
planning a roast and may send for them
to serve as the pig.
Unknown to them, the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) has been
watching the industry and found it
crispy enough to be served up at an
investigation for tax evasion and under
declaration of income.
In its latest “Tax Watch” ad, the BIR
says it has found that a third of the most
popular lechon sellers are not paying
taxes, while the rest are declaring “very
low” income.
For instance, the BIR says in its taxpayment performance of lechon sellers
for 2012, Mila’s Lechon reported an
income tax payable for the year of only
P5,099.
“Mila’s Lechon had P5,099 income tax
due, which is less than the price of its 18kilo lechon,” the BIR says.
Sellers Three Little Pigs and Rico’s
Lechon declared that they had no
income tax liability for 2012, the BIR
says.
Out of the 17 most popular lechon sellers
in the country, six did not file income
tax returns for 2012, it says.
The BIR named the six as Sabroso
Lechon, Elars Lechon, Hecky’s Lechon,
Jiro’s Lechon, Cris Native Lechon and
Aling Loring’s Lechon.
Top roasters
The BIR lists 17 most popular lechon
sellers, based on the published choices of
online magazines Interaksyon,
Choosephilippines.com and Spot.ph.
Cardboardfirmfacestaxevasionraps
MANILA, Philippines—
The Court of Appeals on
Wednesday allowed the government to
pursue tax evasion case against a
cardboard manufacturing firm who has
tax liability worth millions.
In a two-page resolution, the appeals
court’s former 12th division denied the
motion for reconsideration filed by Chiat
Sing Cardboard Corporation which seeks
a reversal of the court’s May 31, 2013
decision.
The appeals court, through Associate
Justice Angelita Gacutan, said the
company failed to present new
arguments that would warrant a
reversal of their earlier ruling.
“A perusal of the instant motion for
reconsideration reveals that no
substantial arguments were presented
that are meritorious enough to warrant
the consideration much less reversal of
our May 31, 2013 decision,” the appeals
court pointed out.
Chiat Sing is engaged in the
manufacture, import, export and
wholesale trading of cardboard,
paperboard, corrugated carton
containers and similar products.
The BIR, in its complaint with the
Department of Justice, accused Chiat
Sing of underdeclaring its income in the
amount of P10.6 million in 1999 and
P5.7 million in 2000 from its
underdeclared importation of raw
materials and underdeclared sales of
P160 million in 1999 and P113 million in
2000.
The BIR noted that Chiat Sing had
actually sought relief from tax
assessment through the BIR’s voluntary
assessment program (VAP), which
grants taxpayers the privilege of being
given the last priority in the audit and
investigation for erroneous payment of
tax liabilities up to December 31, 2000.
But the BIR insisted that the VAP only
stops the audit but does not waive the
accruing tax payments.
Malampayacontractorfacestaxevasioncase
MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of
Internal Revenue on Thursday filed a
tax evasion complaint with the
Department of Justice against a
contractor for several infrastructure
projects funded by Malampaya in 2008.
The BIR said a complaint was filed
against Lorenzo Bote Leoncio.
Leoncio deliberately failed to file correct
and accurate information in his income
tax return and value-added tax return in
2008, the BIR said.
Leoncio is the sole proprietor of LB
Leoncio Trading and Construction
(LBLTC).
LBLTC was contracted by the
Provincial Government of Palawan to
construct several infrastructure projects
funded by Malampaya Funds during
taxable year 2008.
Investigation showed that Leoncio
declared in his ITR for taxable year
2008 gross revenues amounting to
only P18.04 million. But documents
gathered during the probe showed he
earned over P91 million. His
underdeclaration is P73.78 million or by
409 percent.
His tax liability is P78.65 million
inclusive of surcharges and interest.
This is the second contractor for the
Malampaya project slapped with a tax
evasion complaint.
Australian national calls BIR
complaint filed against him
‘unfair’
MANILA, Philippines—An Australian
national on Friday branded the tax evasion
complaint filed against him by the Bureau
of Internal Revenue as unfair.
In a statement sent to reporters, Shank
Kaye through his lawyer Mark Aldave said
they were a victim of trial by publicity
because they have only learned of the tax
evasion complaint filed by the BIR from
the media.
The BIR, last September filed a complaint
against Kaye for the alleged fraudulent
purchase of a condominium unit in One
Serendra at the Bonifacio Global City from
Kamari Overseas Limited for P14 million in
2011.
Investigation by the BIR showed that
corresponding taxes were not paid prior to
the transfer of title and the documents
used by Kaye to effect the transfer of title
to his name were allegedly fake.
Aldave said Kaye bought the condominium
unit in good faith relying on the documents
presented by his former lawyer to show
that the title is free from liens.
“A foreign national with no legal
background who can rely on his former
lawyer’s representation cannot distinguish
the validity of the documents since the
Capital Gains and Documentary Stamp
Tax were duly paid as evidenced by the
receipts issued to him, that the documents
claimed to be fake were issued by the BIR
Taguig itself,” Aldave said.
Only when Kaye tried to sell his property
that he learned that the documents were
fake.
Aldave said they are still waiting for a
summon from the Department of Justice.
Janet Napoles, husband face tax evasion raps
MANILA, Philippines— The Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday filed
over P60-million tax evasion complaint
against Janet Lim Napoles and husband
Jaime.
Department of Justice records showed the
Napoles couple were slapped with a
complaint for wilful attempt to evade or
defeat tax for taxable years 2004, 2006,
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 under
the National Internal Revenue Code
(NIRC).
BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said
Janet Lim-Napoles’ tax liability amounted
to P44.68 million while her husband’s was
at P16.43 million, based on the BIR’s
comparison of their declared net worth
against real properties, motor vehicles,
insurance policies, and shares of stocks in
various corporations registered under the
couple’s names.
“Janet Lim-Napoles’ total acquisition
amounted to P4.17 million in 2004, P22.29
million in 2006, P4.35 million in 2008,
P9.84 million in 2009, P6.33 million in
2010, P5.64 million in 2011, and P6.89 in
2012,” Henares said.
“But she only declared in her ITR (income
tax returns) P195,800 in 2004, nothing in
2006, P107,044.59 in 2008 and nothing
again in 2009.”
The BIR Commissioner said Janet
Napoles failed to file her ITR for the years
2010, 2011 and 2012 while her husband
did the same for 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010,
2011 and 2012.
“Jaime Napoles, the husband, is likewise
charged with deliberate failure to supply
correct and accurate information in his ITR
for 2009 (where he declared nothing),”
Henares said.
Jaime Napoles’ total acquisition is worth
P1.42 million in 2004, P5.51 million in
2006, P0.78 million in 2008, P9.25 million
in 2009, P2.1 million in 2010, P1.17 million
in 2011 and P3.65 million in 2012.
The BIR Commissioner said the amount of
tax liabilities, which some may find
relatively small, was preliminary and may
increase once they file additional cases.
She said it did not yet include corporations
under their name or their children’s name
that may come up in the course of the
investigation.
“If we wait for [information on Napoles’
properties] to be completed, we will not be
able to file a case,” she explained.
According to the complaint, Napoles
invested millions of pesos in various new
corporations. The acquisitions consisted of
condominium units in City & Land Mega
Plaza and the Discovery Center, parcels of
land in Pangasinan and Kidapawan City,
Insurance policies with Insular Life
Assurance Co., Ltd., Philippine American
Life & General Insurance Co., Inc., and
Philippine Axa Life Insurance Corp., and
vehicles such as Ford Lincoln Navigator,
Honda Civic and Porsche Cayenne.
BIR to require doctors to post
rates in clinics
Soon there will be no more need for
prospective clients or patients to ask
around about the rates that lawyers
charge, and the consultation or
professional fees doctors demand.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
is set to issue a directive for doctors,
lawyers and other professionals to post
their rates in a prominent place in their
clinics and offices.
The directive is aimed at promoting
transparency and discouraging tax
evasion among self-employed
professionals, a sector notorious for its
tax evaders.
The disclosure of rates charged by
professionals is expected to aid in tax
audits conducted by BIR personnel.
Memo circular
Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim
Henares said the BIR memorandum
circular requiring the posting of rates
was being drafted.
“We will be issuing the memo soon. This
is part of the overall effort to curb tax
evasion,” Henares told reporters.
The BIR is zeroing in on professionals,
among several other sectors, as it aims
to boost revenue collection.
Henares said there was a serious need to
implement stricter measures against tax
evasion because foregone revenue from
the illegal activity was significant.
She said that out of the estimated 1.7
million professionals registered with the
Professional Regulation Commission
(PRC), only about 400,000 are registered
with the BIR as taxpayers.
Moreover, those who are registered with
the BIR are believed to be significantly
underdeclaring their incomes.
The BIR earlier released a report
showing that the average annual tax
payment by self-employed professionals
stood at less than P6,000 each.
The BIR believes that an average selfemployed professional should be paying
at least P100,000 in annual taxes.
Teachers pay more
A Department of Finance ad published
in newspapers last month showed that
54 percent of all self-employed doctors,
lawyers and accountants in Makati City,
the country’s financial district, paid less
than P35,000 in taxes in 2012.
The amount was less than the P35,952
that the government collected every
year from a public school teacher
earning P21,500 a month.
BIR chief: 90% of PH
professionals tax evaders
There were around 1.7 million selfemployed professionals in the country
who paid a total of P9.8 billion in taxes
in 2010, or an average of only P5,764,
according to Revenue Commissioner
Kim Jacinto-Henares.
Henares said in 2011 that professionals,
based on their income levels, should each
be paying P100,000 in taxes on the
average, indicating a 90-percent tax
evasion rate among doctors, lawyers,
accountants, engineers, architects and
entertainers, among others.
Ideally, the Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR) should be collecting P100 billion
in taxes annually from these
professionals, she said.
The discrepancies prompted Henares to
issue in February 2011 Revenue
Memorandum Order No. 3-2011 ordering
lawyers, doctors, engineers and other
taxpayers rendering professional services
to be the first to be subjected to an audit
to determine whether they paid the
correct taxes in 2010.
Perennially undertaxed
She said the BIR would embark on a
“name and shame” drive to get the
country’s highest-paying and
perennially “undertaxed” professionals
to pay the correct taxes.
President Aquino cited the BIR figures
in his 2011 State of the Nation Address
and said that, “(I)f this is true, then
they each must have earned only P8,500
a month, which is below the minimum
wage. I find this hard to believe.”
“Today we can see that our taxes are
going where they should, and therefore
there is no reason not to pay the proper
taxes. I say to you: ‘It’s not just the
government, but our fellow citizens, who
are cheated out of the benefits that these
taxes would have provided,’” he added.
In March, Aquino made the same
admonition before a group of
businessman at the annual meeting of
the Federation of Filipino-Chinese
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Inc. in Pasay City as he expressed shock
that only 105 of the FFCCCII’s 207
member firms and organizations had tax
identification numbers (TINs).
Pay up
“I wonder what happened to the
others,” the President said. “Of these
105 firms, only 54 filed tax returns. To
make matters worse, 38 firms and
organizations actually filed returns with
zero tax due. That means that only 16 of
the 207—or only around eight percent—
of your member organizations paid
taxes. The 6.6 [percent economic]
growth rate did not seem to affect your
members.”
As a response, FFCCCII president Tan
Chin said in a message to the Inquirer,
“In light of the good governance
program led by our President, the
federation will ask the entire Chinese
community to be very diligent in paying
their tax obligations.”
BIR files tax evasion raps vs
Internet firm, estate exec and
lawyer
MANILA, Philippines–Tax evasion
complaints were filed with the
Department of Justice
(DOJ)Thursday against an Internet
company, an estate administrator and
lawyer.
In separate complaints, the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) slapped
Domain Merchandising Services Inc.
(DMSI) and its officers Ma. Milagros
Casas, President from 2009 to 2012;
Estelita Arada, Treasurer for 2009 to
2011 and Jonalyn Quesada, Treasurer
for 2012 with four counts of willful
attempt to evade or defeat payment of
income tax for 2009 to 2012 and four
counts of deliberate failure to supply
correct and accurate information in its
annual Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for
taxable years 2009 to 2012 violation of
the National Internal Revenue Code of
1997.
Investigation by the BIR showed that
ITRs filed by DMSI showed that its
gross income is P9.59 million in 2009;
P11.0 million in 2010; P9.81 million in
2011 and P10.07 million in 2012.
A comparison of the documents and
information gathered by the BIR,
however, showed that DMSI
deliberately underdeclared its taxable
income by P25.75 million in 2009;
P40.74 million in 2010; P41.33 million in
2011 and P36.45 million in 2012.
DMSI has a total tax liability o P77.58
million.
On the other hand, Mary Anne Abad
was slapped with a complaint for one
count of willful attempt to evade or
defeat the payment of Estate tax and
one count of deliberate failure to file
estate tax return while her lawyer Atty.
Antolin Oliva is facing a case for 1 count
of willful attempt to evade or defeat the
payment of estate tax return.
Abad was slapped with tax evasion
complaint for tax deficiency amounting
to P129.70 million, inclusive of
surcharges and interests.