The Bureau of Internal Revenue filed before the Department of Justice on Thursday a tax evasion complaint against a garbage collection contractor that serves four cities in Metro Manila. BIR commissioner Kim Hacinto-Henares said Ren Transport Corp. defrauded the government of some P299 million by under-declaring its income from 2006 to 2008 and failing to pay taxes for 2009. Those named as respondents were Ren Transport president Reynaldo Pazcoguin, corporate secretary Edwina Pazcoguin, treasurer Nenita Biag, and accountant Edson Fernandez. Ren Transport is the garbage collection and disposal service contractor of San Juan, Muntinlupa, Malabon, and Caloocan. Citing the the records of the four local governments, the BIR said that Ren Transport was paid:
P150 million in 2006; P186 million in 2007, and P85 million in 2008. However, in its income tax return, the firm under-declared its income by: P96 million in 2006 (178 percent); P120 million in 2007 (184 percent), and P66 million in 2008 (357 percent). The Tax Code provides that under-declaring a taxable income by at least 30 percent already constitutes a "prima facie (at first sight) evidence" of committing fraud. In 2009, Ren Transport supposedly did not file its income tax return even if it received P27 million from San Juan and Caloocan cities. The BIR then said the total tax deficiencies of the garbage collecting firm amounts to P299 million, including interest. Meanwhile, also on Thursday, the BIR also filed another tax evasion complaint against a port operator, Golden Dragon International Terminals, for supposedly failing to pay overdue tax deficiencies despite repeated demands from the bureau. Golden Dragon allegedly did not pay P15.3 million in deficiencies. "We're filing a [complaint] because even after the issuance of notices, they still refused to pay the taxes due the government. They don't think we're serious, or they think they can go around assessment and forget about it. This is to send a message that the BIR is serious in collecting the taxes due the government," said Henares at a news briefing. "We don't issue assessment just for the sense of providing it. If they ignore it, there are criminal liabilities that they will have to face," she added. –VVP, GMANews.TV 
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