MANILA - The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Friday said it would look into whether former Chief Justice Renato correctly paid taxes on his income and asset transactions.
In a briefing, BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said the agency’s investigation began February, adding that the bureau is gathering available data on the assets, especially the bank accounts, of the Coronas.
Jacinto-Henares said the BIR cannot divulge the nature or the details of the data obtained.
"First, it is a liability case. Then, it's a confidential matter. But if it warrants a criminal case, then the public will know we will file a case," the BIR chief told reporters.
Under the law, if a tax deficiency is less than 33 percent of the total amount, then it would just be a civil case. Beyond that threshold, the BIR has a prima facie evidence of tax evasion.
Jacinto-Henares said one of the things the agency is looking at is how the principal amount in Corona's bank accounts were created since the interest income from these deposits were already subjected to capital gains tax. She said the bureau has to determine if these came from Corona's income.
"Nabayaran ba yung tax kung yung principal na yan nanggaling sa income? Kung yung income na yan na-report at nabayaran ang tax?" Jacinto-Henares said.
"Kung hindi nya na-report ibig sabihin may kulang. Hindi ka naman magkakapera kung hindi ka nagtrabaho, hindi ka kumita, hindi binigay sa yo o hindi mo minana. Lahat yan may buwis," she said.
The BIR chief said investigating the ousted chief justice is not a political exercise since the agency is just fulfilling its mandate of collecting the right taxes. It would not matter if the person under investigation is rich or holds a high position in government, she said.
"It is not in my discretion to forgive anyone. And you don't want to have your Internal Revenue Commissioner that discretion. Paano naman mangyayari sa fiscal ng gobyerno kung kunyari nag-sorry siya tapos you forgive them. Eh papaano yung ibang taong pupunta sa amin sabihin sa amin sorry tapos di namin pagbibigyan. Mahirap naman po yun. Kailangan pantay-pantay naman," she said.
source: interaksyon.com
