The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed a tax evasion complaint against Rappler Holdings Corporation, the parent company of Rappler, its president, Maria Ressa, and another official yesterday.
The BIR cited Rappler Holdings for alleged “willful attempt to evade or defeat tax” and its “deliberate failure to supply correct and accurate information” in its 2015 income tax return.
According to the BIR, Rappler issued and sold PHP181.67 million (US$3.745 million) worth of Philippine Depository Receipts to two foreign firms, but failed to pay income and value-added taxes for the transactions.
Due to these omissions, the aggregate tax liability of Rappler amounted to PHP133.84 million (US$2.5 million), the bureau said. Rappler’s treasurer James Bitanga was also included in the complaint.
Ressa said in a statement that the complaint was “ludicrous.”
“The BIR should check its own records since it recognized Rappler as one of the top 500 corporate taxpayers in region 7,” she said in a statement. “We are not surprised by this latest government move to harass us.”
Ressa said Rappler was shocked by the speed of the BIR to file a complaint with the Department of Justice when its agents only delivered a letter three days ago that was “remarkable for its lack of details.”
“Rappler has always been transparent and above board in all its dealing and transactions, and the records will bear us out,” she said
Rappler’s sale of PDRs to foreign investors led the Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke its certificate of incorporation in January for allegedly violating the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media.
Several government agencies have been going after Rappler since President Rodrigo Duterte accused it of being linked to — and funded by — the Central Intelligence Agency.
The agencies include The Office of the Solicitor General, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the BIR.
The news website denied the SEC’s claim that Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder and entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar, controlled its operations.
Rappler has asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the SEC ruling.
with a report from ABS-CBN News
