No compromise for Coronas, et al facing tax raps – BIR

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

The BIR stood firm that no settlement will be offered to Coronas or other Filipinos facing tax cases

MANILA, Philippines – The government stressed that there will be no out-of-court settlement or compromise deal on the tax case against the Coronas and other individuals faced with tax evasion cases.

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares said they are prepared to release additional evidence against former chief justice Renato Corona as his tax evasion case progresses.

“It depends. We can provide additional evidence as it comes. The policy of the Bureau is that we don’t enter into a plea bargaining or compromise agreement in criminal cases,” Henares said.

On Tuesday, September 25, Corona and other members of his family did not appear during the preliminary investigation of the tax evasion charges. Their lawyer asked for more time to study the case. The Justice department has agreed to reset the preliminary investigation hearing date to October 5.

However, Henares remains optimistic that the BIR has a strong case against the Coronas although she conceded that the Justice department and the courts would have their own appreciation of the case.

Last month, the BIR filed a tax evasion case worth P150.68 million against Corona, his daughter Ma. Carla Castillo, and son-in-law Constantino Castillo III after they allegedly failed to properly disclose their taxable income for various years.

Corona alone has an income tax liability of P120.5 million after he allegedly failed to disclose all his assets in his statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN) from 2002 to 2010.

In the complaint filed before the Department of Justice on August 30, the BIR said Corona did not declare two real properties he acquired during his stint in government: a condominium unit at the Columns along Ayala Avenue that he bought for P3.6 million in 2004 and a Fort Bonifacio property that he bought for P9.16 million in 2005.

Furthermore, the BIR alleged Corona did not declare his dollar accounts in his SALN, which Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said amounted to $10 to $12 million. Corona claimed he held only $2.4 million in dollar deposits and P80 million in peso deposits.

Based on the BIR’s computation, Corona’s daughter has an income tax liability amounting to P9.93 million while her husband has a tax liability of P20.25 million.

The BIR, which is tasked to collect P1.06 trillion this year, started its investigation on Corona’s family assets during the former chief justice’s five-month historic impeachment trial that ended on May 29. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!