THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed a total of 74 tax evasion complaints against delinquent taxpayers and companies on Thursday, February 2, 2023.
BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said 53 complaints were filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila, while the other 21 were filed in local courts.
Three of the locally filed were in Cebu City amounting to P44,887,444.91, while there were also three in Cagayan de Oro valued at P16,607,516.64.
He said respondents were also charged with willful failure to pay taxes, willful attempt to evade or defeat the payment of tax dues, and willful failure to pay/remit their income tax liabilities.
“Ginawa natin ‘yan dahil gusto natin na mai-convey sa ating publiko sa ating mamayan na lalo na darating ang tax filing season na siguraduhin natin na kapag nag fa-file tayo ng returns natin, bayaran natin ng tama ang karampatang buwis natin kung hindi sasampahan tayo ng kaso,” Lumagui said.
(We did that because we want to convey to our public, especially that the tax filing season is coming, to make sure that when we file our returns, we pay our proper taxes correctly, or else we will be charged.)
He said many of the respondents were found to have declared or filed their tax returns but did not actually pay their taxes. (SunStar Philippines)