Tax obligations in the Philippines are under the watchful eye of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), the IRS’ (Internal Revenue Service) counterpart in the country. In its top helm is Kim Henares and in Revenue region 19 Davao City is Regional Director Glen Geraldino.
They, along with all the other 18 revenue regions across the isles are responsible for overseeing if mandated taxpayers are complying, if they file the correct returns and the right information drives are being spearheaded.
So whether you are located in Baguio, Naga, Samar, Zamboanga or GenSan, there’s no escaping big BIR brother’s eyes. Luckily for Davao residents, there are caring accounting firms that offer tax services in Davao for striving local businesses.
Because admit it or not, any process related to taxation is always a daunting task to fulfill.
And what happens to people who fail in this social responsibility? They become included in the list of numerous tax evasion cases which most of the time involves the famous. Why?
You see in the Philippines (and perhaps anywhere in the world), one’s individual taxes is determined by the amount of income he or she is getting in an annual basis. So it is directly proportional so to say. The larger your income, the larger your tax payment bracket is. Who among the Filipino people have more than six figures as annual income? Politicians, celebrities and notable public figures.
The following is a list of local cases in recent memory, and an advice that could have saved them from incurring the cases.
National Ordeals
1. Renato Corona
The first and, as of this writing, only Supreme Court Justice to have been convicted and removed from office in a form of impeachment trial. The whole Philippine news facade has been glued onto this issue for months starting from the last quarter of 2011, and the first months of 2012, opening it with negative vibes.
He has been filed a P120.5 million months after he was ousted. Due to this, the former justice tells that this is just a propaganda against him and remains confident that he will be cleared of it anytime soon. Main reason for case: undeclared cash assets over the years.
2. Judy Ann Santos
Famous child-star turned superstar whom countless Filipino generations have seen evolved for many roles in the boob tube to the big screen. The case filed against her last 2008 was due to her income tax deficiency from 2002 plus 20 percent delinquency interest computed from 2008.
Although the criminal aspect of her case was already dismissed just this year, she is still ordered by the Court of Appeals to pay P3.418 million for accumulated deficiencies.
3. Solenn Heussaff
The current year’s tax filing season was already done so the infamous list of top taxpayers were already revealed. It is quite ironic that Solenn is part of that list this year but was also slapped a tax evasion case by the BIR for under-declaration of more than 30 percent of her income tax for 2011.
The main problem is that despite the actress’ statement that she’s an honest person, she was dragged into this problem due to the problematic accountant she trusted.
4. Mikey Arroyo and wife
What do they say about trees bearing fruits? That it will always produce the same results. For the Arroyo family, the old adage rings true. Aside from the notorious former president GMA and FG, their offspring aren’t doing any better. Mikey Arroyo, their famous son who also treaded politics had always been pulled into the limelight due to his parent’s reputation; earned his own!
He, alongside his wife, were both filed tax evasion cases last 2011 due to attempts to evade or defeat tax. Mikey reportedly did not file returns for 2005, 2008 and 2009. His wife came in worse by not filing any tax returns from 2003 to 2009.
5. Jimmy Alapag and Jared Dillinger
They come in pairs. Just as the two mentioned above, these famous basketball players is currently facing tax raps filed against them just this year for non-filing of tax returns from 2007 to 2012 (Alapag) and 2008 to 2011 (Dillinger) respectively.
6. Carlo J. Caparas
If you’ve ever read or watched anything pertaining to Panday and Totoy Bato then chances are you have once been mesmerized by this great man’s life work. But despite all the years he endured as a class A talent in the Philippine comics division, he once had a bad share of the day.|
The lawsuit was upheld by DOJ and is pegged at P102 million for the producer-director’s non-compliance with his tax obligations for his P1.3 billion contract under PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office) to make two television shows last 2011.
7. Retired General Thelmo Cunanan
He is also former SSS (Social Security Services) Chair but just in the case of all the other known figures in this list, his non-declarations for income taxes due for the years 2005 to 2007 is what meant trouble.
Local Trouble
BUT this list only involves the rich and famous, how about those who are only rich but not famous? In Davao region, there was a businessman from Panabo City, Ernesto Yap, who is facing tax evasion charges for not paying P165.42 million to the government for taxable years of 2009 and 2010.
This means that status in life won’t matter much in determining who gets a case or not. The reasons celebrities and famous personalities get into trouble are just the same reasons that normal citizens get in trouble.
You can see words like non-declaration, non-compliance, non-filing of tax returns and under-declaration. When you commit an offense, the government will hand out the consequences of avoiding such dues.
Now come to think of it, if he could have just found a reliable firm that offers trustworthy Davao tax services, he could have been spared of the ordeal.
The reasons are common and non-discriminative of who gets the case or not. One main solution that could have guided the branded offenders out of this havoc is the proper selection of accounting firms who specialize in tax services here in Davao and elsewhere in the country.
They should be certified professionals who can offer not just an opportunity to live in harmony with the BIR but also legal tax reduction schemes, preservation of assets and income deferrals to maximize income.
