Warner Music owes gov’t P118M in taxes – BIR

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed on Thursday, January 30, tax evasion complaints against entertainment giant Warner Music and two of its executives.

The criminal complaint filed with the Department of Justice alleges that Warner Music Philippines, its president Yin Chong Wong, and treasurer Cheolette Contreras wilfully failed to pay corporate taxes worth P118.32 million for 2005.

Warner Music’s tax deficiencies are broken down as follows:

• P85.09 million – income tax 
• P21.04 million – VAT
• P10.50 million – final withholding tax
• P1.69 million – expanded withholding tax

Warner Music, which holds office in Pasig City, imports, manufactures, sells, distributes, reproduces, markets, and promotes of all kinds of music-related products and services.

Also on Thursday, the BIR filed criminal complaints against two other businessmen and another company and its responsible officer for wilfully failing to pay taxes for various years.

They are:

• Diego Martinez, the sole proprietor of Twinpeaks Service Center, a retailer of petroleum products in Blueridge, Quezon City. He has a total liability of P50.84 million from taxable year 2006.
• Manuel Nuguid Nieto, who solely owns Perseus Commodity Trading on Bonifacio Avenue in Quezon City. He failed to pay P182.21 million in 2008 for this flour wholesale trading operations.
• Asian Trend Marketing Incorporated (ATMI) in Katipunan, Quezon City, and its president Allan Cristobal. Their trading business had tax deficiency of P55.99 million for the year 2007.

The BIR said these companies and businessmen were served but did not reply to Preliminary Assessment Notices, Final Assessment Notices, and Formal Letters of Demand.

They also allegedly ignored Preliminary Collection Letters, Final Collection Notices Before Seizure, Warrants of Distraint and/or Levy and Garnishment, and Demands Before Suit sent their way.

“The respondents’ obstinate failure and continued refusal to pay their long overdue deficiency tax assessments, despite repeated demands, were construed as wilful failure to pay the taxes due to the government,” the BIR said in a statement. – Rappler.com