Every
unpaid tax must be settled, this is what President Spokesperson Harry Roque said
in a statement after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed a tax evasion
case against Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC) and its officers.
Roque
instilled that law must be adhered and implemented.
“Well, ano
pong reaksiyon natin diyan kung hindi ang batas pinapatupad (Well, how else
should we react if not to say that there are laws being implemented),” he said.
“Kung
mayroon talagang hindi nabayarang buwis dapat managot (If there really are
taxes that have not been paid, they should be held liable),” Roque added.
According
to BIR, Rappler and its president Maria Ressa as well as its treasurer James
Bitanga had a "willful attempt to evade or defeat tax" and a "deliberate
failure to supply correct and accurate information" in its annual income
tax return and value-added tax (VAT) returns for 2015.
The BIR
also reported that Rappler have a cumulative tax liability amounting to Php133.84
million, which Ressa described as “ludicrous” and encouraged BIR to check "check its own
records."
If recalled, the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Rappler’s certification of incorporation
for alleged violation of the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of
mass media.
In a radio interview, Presidential
Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar also encouraged
Rappler to settle its ownership issues to be permitted to cover Malacañang events
just like other media.
“Talagang kailangan lang
ay i-solve ng Rappler iyong kanilang issue with the Securities and Exchange
Commission at doon sa Court of Appeals (Rappler should really solve their issue
with the SEC and the Court of Appeals). Once they solve it, that they can
reverse the decision… the CA reversed the decision then by all means they can
cover,” Andanar said.
Also, the PCOO secretary
reiterated that covering President Rodrigo Duterte and Malacañang events “is
actually privilege, it’s not a right.”
Source: PNA
0 Comments