Posted on October 31, 2011 10:58:09 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
A BUSINESSMAN has been ordered arrested over tax evasion charges filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), with the warrant to be served by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
In a resolution dated Oct. 19 and released by the BIR yesterday, the first division of the Court of Tax Appeals has issued an arrest warrant against businessman Macario L. Gaw, Jr. with a P120,000 bail bond. The businessman has a total tax deficiency of P5.5 billion for the period 2007-2008.
“The court, after due deliberation, finds the existence of probable cause for the issuance of warrant of arrest against the accused in these consolidated criminal cases,” the resolution read.
In a telephone interview, BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares said that the arrest warrant will be sent by the court sheriff to the Department of Justice (DoJ), which will order the NBI to serve the order.
Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima has assured that the warrant will be served, added the BIR chief.
“Yes, she has assured us of the implementation of the warrant. In fact, she was the one who ordered it,” Ms. Henares said, referring to Ms. de Lima.
For her part, Ms. de Lima, in a text message, said she has instructed Prosecutor General Claro A. Arellano to obtain a copy of the arrest warrant and hand it over to the NBI for implementation.
In August last year, the BIR filed tax evasion charges against Mr. Gaw for failing to pay the correct income taxes for 2007 and 2008. He also did not indicate correct information in income tax returns and failed to file value-added tax (VAT) returns for 2008.
The BIR said Mr. Gaw, president of Mega Packaging Corp. and Macro Liquefied Petroleum Gas Co., has tax deficiency broken down as P1.3-billion basic income tax, P1 billion as basic VAT and the rest in interest and surcharges.
The case stemmed from Mr. Gaw’s purchase of 10 parcels of land in 2007 and 2008 worth P4.12 billion that were later on sold for P8.42 billion. The lots were declared as capital assets with Mr. Gaw paying only 6% of the capital gains tax worth P9.11 million for 2007 and P418.75 million in 2008. If the lots were declared ordinary assets, these could have been subjected to 32% income tax and 12% VAT.
The BIR claimed that Mr. Gaw used multiple Tax Identification Numbers, making it harder to track the violations.
The DoJ has found probable cause and ordered the filing of charges against Mr. Gaw at the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) in March.
Last week, the CTA’s second division ordered the arrest of spouses Jacinto C. Ligot and Erlinda Yambao Ligot over tax evasion charges also filed by the BIR.
The retired general was former military comptroller and was named in a plunder case at the Office of the Ombudsman. A plea bargain between him and the Ombudsman has been approved by the Sandiganbayan but its implementation was withheld. -- Nathaniel R. Melican
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