Taulava, Garcia face tax evasion charges

Big fish are being netted in the government’s latest tax enforcement push.

Criminal charges have been filed against Fil-Tongan basketball star Paul Asi Taulava and former Armed Forces of the Philippines comptroller retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and his wife Clarita for alleged tax evasion.

The Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed the charges yesterday before the Department of Justice, following two previous cases filed against lifestyle columnist and television host Tina Juan and celebrity beauty expert Jessie Mendez.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the charges against Taulava and Garcia are part of the BIR and DOF’s joint drive against tax evasion.

"This is more than just a name-and-shame campaign," Purisima said. "The message we want to convey is exactly the opposite — we want to show that we will pursue these cases and prosecute tax evaders."

According to Purisima, Taulava was being charged with non-declaration of income and non-filing of tax returns. He said the basketball player, whose citizenship is under question, did not file his income tax returns for taxable years 1998 to 2003.

"As an individual deriving income within the Philippines, Taulava is subject to income tax as provided by the National Internal Revenue Code," Purisima said.

In the case against Garcia, Purisima said the DOF and the BIR made formal their intention to pursue the case against the retired general and his wife, Clarita, for "gross under-declaration of income" and for the submission of a false and fraudulent return for taxable year 2002.

Purisima said the investigations carried out by the BIR showed a disparity in the couple’s declared income and actual cash transactions.

"Clarita, who has no visible source of income, allegedly made cash transactions amounting to more than P7 million in 2002 alone," he said.

Garcia is currently undergoing court martial for allegedly amassing ill-gotten wealth.

BIR chief Guillermo Parayno said they found the Garcias have unpaid taxes when the bureau compared the couple’s list of assets with their declared income.

"We invited General Garcia and his wife for an informal conference but his lawyer refused to present his clients to us and refused to respond to these issues, forcing us to make a writ of preliminary assessment," Parayno said.

"His response was unacceptable because he is saying the income we are collecting taxes from are income that are not ill-gotten. The point is not whether it is ill-gotten or not. The point is, there is an income, therefore, taxes should have been paid, ill-gotten or not."

Earlier, the BIR filed tax evasion charges against fitness guru Tina Juan and celebrity cosmetic doctor Jessie Mendez as the Arroyo administration launched a campaign to crack down on individual and corporate tax evaders.

Juan, a newspaper columnist and television show host, was named in the charges along with six others from her company, Fitness by Design Inc.

Parayno said that based on BIR records, Juan’s company owed the government at least P10.6 million in taxes, surcharges and interests for undeclared revenues in 1995.

Charged along with Juan — who is a stockholder, director and treasurer of her company — were company manager Delfin Ferrer and accountant Olivia Mendoza.

According to Parayno, Juan claimed her company was in its pre-operation stage in 1995 and thus did not declare income for that year.

However, a BIR investigation showed that the company sold sports and exercise equipment, received payments and issued invoices, official and provisionary receipts in the same year.

Parayno said Juan had offered a compromise settlement to the BIR but he said the case would not qualify for settlement since it involved fraud and perjury. — With Jose Rodel Clapano