Government eyes P31.8 billion from tax cases

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration hopes to collect P31.836 billion in additional revenues from a total of 79 tax cases it has filed against alleged tax evaders under a program of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the government’s main revenue collection agency.

The 79 cases comprise the cases filed as of Nov. 21 under the agency’s Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program.

Of the P31.836 billion, the government expects to collect P11 billion in taxes from cases filed against gold traders selling gold to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BIR filed the cases against the traders based on evidence from the BSP.

Following the filing of the cases, several traders who have no pending cases have already gone to the BIR to determine how to comply with the taxes before charges are filed against them too.

Claro Ortiz, revenue executive assistant and overall coordinator of the BIR’s RATE program, said the tax agency is tightening the noose on gold traders because many of them are not aware of their tax obligations even as their earnings run into billions of pesos yearly.

Of the 79 cases, 63 are pending with the Department of Justice while 19 cases have already been resolved, with most of the decisions in favor of the BIR.

The biggest tax evasion case under the current administration is the case against businessman Mariano Lim Gaw Jr.

According to BIR Commissioner Kim Henares, the agency is seeking to collect at least P5.5 billion from Gaw for underdeclaring his income in 2007 and 2008, failing to file value-added tax returns for 2008, and for failing to supply the BIR with correct data and information.

Gaw, who owns Mega Packaging Corp., allegedly bought 10 parcels of land in 2007 and 2008 for a total of P4.11 billion and sold them for P8.41 billion within a year.

The BIR filed the case against Gaw at the Department of Justice in August last year. The DOJ ruled that there was probable cause in filing charges against Gaw.

The BIR has also filed tax evasion cases against allegedly corrupt government officials, more particularly those who were involved in the corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines such as Gen. Carlos Garcia and Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot.