Jethro Sabariaga, director of the BIR covering Central Luzon provinces, said his agency filed Thursday a tax evasion case against the doctor and the gas station owner for “willful attempt to evade or defeat tax, and deliberate failure to supply correct and accurate information in their income tax returns (ITR) for taxable years 2010, 2011 and 2012.”
The names of the two have been withheld by this reporter pending attempts to reach them for comment.
Sabariaga said that the following day, he also ordered the closure of a bakeshop and pasalubong store and a trucking firm “either due to the owners’ discrepancies in the information filed on their ITRs and their business taxes or misdeclaration of their actual sales.”
The BIR complaint said the doctor is allegedly one of the stockholders, incorporators and directors of a hospital based in Guagua, Pampanga, where she also holds regular clinic schedules.
Sabariaga said BIR investigations showed that from the doctor’s originial investment shares of stocks of P75,000, she subsequently made additional investments in the hospital, increasing her stakes to P20.24 million as shown by a special audit report dated August 30, 2005.
“Though averring that she neither incurred loans from 2011 to 2012 nor received cash or stock dividends from [the hospital] from the years 2004 to 2012, (the doctor) was able to purchase a 2012 Model Toyota Fortuner, and real estate properties valued at P8.68 million,” Sabariaga said.
He noted that the doctor “also applied for building permits to set up a water station with an estimated cost of P942,150 and a two-storey house estimated to cost P6.89 million in 2005 and 2010, respectively.”
The doctor’s ITRs revealed that she declared a net income available for investment ranging only between P29,000 and P144,000 from 2003 to 2012.
Sabariaga noted that her investments showed “misdeclaration of income between P45,999 and P7.6 million from years 2002 to 2012–an annual tax discrepancy of about 3,716 percent in eight consecutive years.”
“(Her) tax liability based on BIR assessment is pegged at P25.81 million inclusive of surcharges,” Sabariaga added.
The BIR also charged for tax violation an owner of a gas station and convenience store in Dinalupihan, Bataan.
Sabariago said BIR findings indicated the owner posted a “very low tax compliance” by paying income taxes at a fixed rate of only .02 percent of her total taxable sales of P268.16 million for the years 2010 to 2012.”
He cited records indicating that the businesswoman’s declared purchases from PTT Philippines Corp. (PTTPC) amounted to the following: P70.58 million for 2010; P101.85 million for 2011; and, P88.63 million for 2012.
“However, PTTPC certified that (her) fuel purchases respectively amounted to P153.29 million, P231.54 million and P178.85 million for the three taxable years,” Sabariago noted.
“Despite having sold the fuel which she purchased from PTTPC during the years in question, she did not correctly declare income arising from such sales transaction,” Sabariaga said.
He noted that the businesswoman’s alleged underdeclaration of taxable sales was estimated at an annual average of 116.24 percent or a total of P312.93 million for three years.”
“She owes the government some P228.02 million in tax liabilities including surcharges.” he added.
The doctor and the businesswoman are among the more than 450 individuals and entities charged under the Run After Tax Evaders Program since Commissioner Kim Henares took over the reins of the BIR.
At the same time, Sabariaga also said he has sent “stern warnings to business establishments who either disregard the issuance of sales invoice or official receipts, and fail to correctly record their sales.”
He also reported that the baskeshop and pasalubong store is now facing sanctions due to its underdeclaration of sales for its branch in Pampanga.
“Sales reports from the store claimed they were able to earn only from P1,000 to P1,500 per day. But a two-week surveillance at the shop revealed that average daily sales is hitting P15,000. Due to this, the government was denied of its tax collectible estimated to cost P1.9 million from 2014 to 2015,” Sabariaga said.
The trucking firm, on the other hand, posted discrepancies in the owner’s income tax returns and business tax, the BIR regional chief said. “While the owner paid only P6,000 for 2014, his actual due should be P1.8 million, Sabariaga noted.
He said four more establishments will be closed this week to bring to 10 the total number of businesses temporarily closed by the end of the month.
