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MANILA, Philippines (4th UPDATE) – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday, September 26, filed tax evasion charges against Janet Lim Napoles and her husband Jaime.
Napoles’ total liability stands at P44.68M, while Jaime’s liability is worth P16.43M, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said in a press briefing on Thursday.
Henares said that the charges are based on the failure of the couple to file proper income taxes. The agency reached this conclusion on the basis of properties and investments under their names, which are not reflected in the income they declared —or did not declare — in the years they were purchased.
These include their properties in City and Land Mega Plaza, Discovery Center, parcels of land in Pangasinan and Kidapawan City; insurance policies with Insular Life Assurance Co Ltd, Phil-American Life and General insurance Co, and Phil AXA Life Insurance Corp; and vehicles such as the Ford Lincoln Navigator, Honda Civic and Porsche Cayenne.
READ: How Napoles is hiding her properties
Henares said Napoles did not file her Income Tax Return (ITR) for the years 2010-2012. In 2004, she filed an annual income of P195,800. In 2006 and 2009, she did not declare any income, Henares added.
In all her tax declarations, Napoles listed her job as “sole proprietor of merchandising goods.” She never listed her coal business, which her lawyer Lorna Kapunan initially said is the source of her wealth.
Jaime Napoles, on the other hand, failed to file his income tax return in the years 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012, Henares said. In 2009, he declared nothing in his ITR, according to Henares.
In contrast, Napoles acquired the following worth of properties: P4.17M in 2004; P22.29M in 2006; P4.35M in 2008; P9.84M in 2009; P6.33M in 2010; P5.64M in 2011; and P6.89M in 2012.
Jaime Napoles’ properties are worth the following: P1.42M in 2004; P5.51M in 2006; P0.78M in 2007; P9.25M in 2009; P2.1M in 2010; P1.17M in 2011; P3.65M in 2012.
“These are just based on properties they registered in their name, the insurance investments and club shares under their name,” Henares said.
The tax chief said they have noted the condominium units and other parcels of land in Pangasinan, Kidapawan City, and other areas.
“We filed the criminal case because you already committed the crime. I leave it up to the court to determine the gravity of the case,” she said when asked about more details of the case.
She said they will also look into the reported assets of the Napoles children.
30 properties?
Earlier this month, Henares conceded that it might be tough to pin down the Napoleses for tax evasion because some of their properties are under other people’s names.
Whistleblowers say Napoles own 30 properties both here and abroad.
Rappler reported on 4 Napoles-linked properties in the United States, including an P80-million apartment in Los Angeles under the name of her daughter Jeane Napoles.
Another Rappler story showed however that Napoles’ companies reported earnings of less than P1-million.
Napoles is detained at Fort Sto Domingo, Sta Rosa, Laguna, over charges of serious illegal detention. She was arraigned last Monday, September 23.
She is the suspected brains behind a well-entrenched pork barrel syndicate that siphons off lawmakers’ development funds to dubious non-governmental organizations.
Napoles is facing a separate plunder complaint before the Ombudsman. At least 38 lawmakers are also facing charges before the Ombudsman in relation to the pork barrel scam.
READ: Estrada, Enrile, Revilla face plunder complaints
The tax evasion case is the first to be filed against her husband, a retired Marine officer, in relation to the scandal. – Rappler.com
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