Maceda, 2 aides have to pay taxes for luxury cars

Former Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda and his two advisers cannot bring in their luxury vehicles without paying taxes, after all.

Records show that only Maceda’s 2000 Mercedes Benz S500, which costs $77,850 in the US market, met the six-month registration required under the Foreign Service Act of 1991 for tax- and duty-free entry.

However, the vehicle’s cost exceeded the $36,000 ceiling for non-dutiable vehicles of ambassadors, thus he still needs to pay the corresponding tax for the balance.

If Maceda really wants to bring in his second vehicle, a 2000 Toyota SUV, the Department of Finance (DOF) said he has to pay all Customs duties because there is no legal basis to exempt it.

The DOF said the two 2001 BMW BX5s which Maceda’s advisers Rolleo Ignacio and Patricia Porras wanted to import from the United States would have to be taxed.

Besides failing to meet the required six-month registration, the luxury cars exceed the $22,000 non-dutiable ceiling for foreign service staffers.

Malacañang, under former President Joseph Estrada, merely waived the requirement that Maceda and his two advisers must have served at least two years before they could avail themselves of tax exemptions in shipping their household effects and motor vehicles.

Maceda and Ignacio assumed their posts on July 19, 1999, while Porras got to Washington on Sept. 6, 1999 but was recalled on Sept. 30, 2000.

Maceda and his advisers earlier asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to work on tax exemptions for their luxury vehicles. — With Jerry Botial