Purisima says he pays his taxes 'religiously'

MANILA, Philippines - Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima maintained yesterday that he pays his taxes religiously and is not a tax evader, responding to allegations that he has been a delinquent taxpayer.

“There is a malicious SMS (short message service) going around accusing me of tax evasion. This is the farthest from the truth. I have filed and paid my taxes religiously,” Purisima said.

Allegations of tax evasion by Purisima have surfaced during hearings at the Commission on Appointments (CA) which has repeatedly deferred his confirmation as Finance chief.

Some quarters have questioned the alleged discrepancies in Purisima’s income tax returns and his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) filed from 2006 to 2009.

However, in a statement, Purisima said he was not employed since he left the previous administration in 2005 because of a ban that prohibits him from being employed by any banking or financial institution and other similar businesses two years after serving the government.

Since leaving the previous administration in 2005, Purisima said he derived his income from his “earnings in various investments,” which are all classified as “passive income” or those, which are subject to final tax and is not declared in one’s ITR.

He said that for the last five years, his income from investments reached an average of P100 million, causing the increase in his SALN.

“An income deriving from an investment is not the same income that is being declared in an ITR. They are simply not one and the same,” Purisima said.

“The reason that you cannot see the passive income in my ITR from 2006 to 2009 is that you don’t include passive income in ITR,” Purisima said.

Earlier, Malacañang defended Purisima saying it sees no need for the Finance chief to explain his income.

“We see no need for the investigation of Secretary Purisima’s income tax statement because that has already been amplified in the documents he submitted to the Senate,” said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

Purisima is one of the few Aquino Cabinet members who have yet to be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. The CA bypassed the confirmation of Purisima in January this year, and deferred it again when Congress went on recess before the Holy Week. – With Delon Porcalla