Restaurant officers face P31.71-M tax evasion charges

Charges have been filed against the corporate officers of Bulwagang Filipino restaurant for allegedly failing to pay P31.71 million in taxes for the sale of a real property in Manila. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday its complaint against four of the restaurant’s officers, Ma. Cristina Muñoz, Roque Muñoz, Catherine Muñoz and Benjamin Aquino. According to the BIR, its investigators learned that Bulwagang Filipino’s property sale amounted to P33 million but gains from the 2008 deal were not declared . The complaint also alleged that the restaurant did not pay the documentary stamp taxes (DST) and value added taxes (VAT) tied to the sale. The assessed income tax liability is P22.13 million, plus P8.51 million in VAT, and P1.07 million in DST. Bulwagang Filipino, the BIR said, did not file the required returns for income taxes and VAT during the said taxable year. The BIR also charged lawyer Marissa Tomines of the Manila Register of Deeds for letting the sale push through without proper documentation. The revenue agency also discovered that the sale was not recorded in any transfer of title document with the Land Registration Authority. — ELR/VS, GMA News