ShareThisBy FRANCO G. REGALA and CLAIRE MORALES
QUEZON CITY (PhilAmPress) — Ang Galing Pinoy Party-list Congressman Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo and wife Angela have been charged before the Department of Justice by the Bureau of Internal Revenue with tax evasion, a charge readily tagged as “pure political harrassment” by the couple.
The BIR said the couple was liable for P73.85 million in tax deficiency accumulated from 2004 to 2009.
The BIR also filed tax evasion cases against Brazilian television host and model Daiana Menezes and businessman Marcelino Gaw. Already, the BIR has filed at least 40 tax evasion cases under the Aquino administration, most of which are still undergoing investigation by the DoJ.
BIR Chief Kim Jacinto-Henares, vowing that Arroyo will have to serve jail, said it is too late for him to amend his tax returns covering the years which became the basis of the charges filed by the BIR against him.
Henares stressed that each count of violation of the tax law carries with it prison time for Arroyo in case the lawmaker is found guilty by the court.
It was learned that the lawmaker only paid BIR P2.4 million, P1.7 million and P376,000 in taxes for the years 2004, 2006 and 2007, respectively, when he and his wife bought several properties worth millions from 2004 to 2009 – including residential houses in San Francisco Bay Area, in Lubao, Pampanga and in La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City.
If found guilty, the couple could face imprisonment of up to four years and fine of at least P30,000 for each count of underdeclaration of taxes and imprisonment of up to 10 years and P10,000 fine for each count of non-filing of ITR.
Arroyo, son of former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, questioned what he called the lack of due process in the handling of tax evasion charges lodged against him and his wife by the BIR.Ironically, he said that he received his notice from BIR on April 5, birthday of his mother.
Arroyo said he was given from April 5 ten days to answer questions on his statement of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN) but suddenly Henares announced to the media the filing of a tax evasion complaint against him two days later.
Arroyo said obviously the Aquino administration is looking for a whipping boy and resorting to gimmickry to cover up its failures, even citing that unlike President Aquino, he does not have a Porsche sports car.
“Clearly, this administration is resorting to political gimmickry as its popularity rating is declining due to its failure to arrest the rising prices of fuel, electricity, water, canned goods, bread and other basic commodities.
Arroyo said that his conscience is clear because he had paid his taxes and that his income tax returns (ITRs) are available at the House of Representatives.
“I’ve nothing against the government reviewing citizens who they see are remiss in paying taxes. What I am wondering about is the lack of due process,” he said.
Arroyo said the BIR informed him of his supposed tax deficiencies only last Tuesday.
He said the BIR and the Department of Justice (DoJ) seemed to be in a hurry to file the tax evasion case so much so that they did not wait for the 10 days given to him under the law to respond to the notice.
The BIR filed Thursday with the DoJ a tax evasion complaint against Arroyo and his wife Angela.
Reacting on Arroyo’s claim, President Benigno S. Aquino III said that the party-list solon should just present his income tax returns so they could be checked.
The P73.85 million tax deficiency stems from the couple’s alleged “repeated willful (failure) to file their income tax returns (ITR) and substantial underdeclaration of income for the periods in question,” said BIR commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares.
It alleged that Mikey did not file his ITR in 2005, 2008, and 2009.
The BIR further said that a scrutiny of Mikey’s Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALN) from 2002 to 2009 would show that from 2004 to 2009, the party-list solon and his wife bought millions of pesos worth of properties, including houses, vehicles, and shares of stock.
It noted that “despite receipt of substantial amounts of income, the Arroyo spouses repeatedly failed to file any annual income tax return and to pay the corresponding taxes due thereon.”
Arroyo, however, insisted that he had paid his taxes and that the records of his properties are in his SALN.
“My conscience is clear, I pay my taxes. Everything I own is in my SALN, public record,” he said.
Arroyo also contested the BIR’s claim that his wife Angela had no ITR. He said his wife is unemployed.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima assured the couple they would be accorded due process in the preliminary investigation of the complaint.
She said the complaint would be resolved expeditiously just like an ordinary case in the DOJ.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said that the cases filed against the Arroyo couple show that the Aquino administration is serious in its fight against taxevaders.
“The cases that we filed today are testaments to the Aquino administration’s continued drive against tax cheats who think that they are above the law. The ways of the past are over. Let me repeat for those who still believe otherwise – it is no longer business-as-usual. The Aquino government is determined to send to jail all tax evaders and smugglers that rob the Filipino people of their much needed government revenues,” Purisima said.
But Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Juan Miguel Zubiri want to know if the government is dead serious in going after tax evaders or only those who they perceive to be supporters of the past administration.