Concessionaire in PAGCOR ‘coffee scam’ questions tax suit

The businesswoman linked to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.'s (PAGCOR) allegedly anomalous coffee deals has denied under-declaring her income so she can evade the payment of proper taxes for the years 2003 and 2004. Through her lawyer Lorna Kapunan, Carlota Cristi Manalo-Tan disputed the Bureau of Internal Revenue's (BIR) claim that she earned P107 million but declared only P42.88 million for the two taxable years. She also questioned the BIR's computation that she has an aggregate tax liability of P59 million. "As in any other cases filed by the BIR, this remains subject to further clarification and review. Clearly, my client’s company filed its income tax in the questioned period of years 2003 and 2004. The supposed P59-million estimated income liability remains highly disputable and should be subject to further clarification and review," Kapunan said in a statement. Manalo-Tan is the sole proprietor of Promolabels Specialty Shop, the company that cornered P700 million of the P1 billion that the previous PAGCOR leadership supposedly spent for coffee. Manalo-Tan used her maiden name "Lot Manalo" in signing the contract with PAGCOR to operate Figaro coffee shops in Parañaque, Angeles City, Heritage, Olongapo City, Manila Pavilion, Tagaytay and the former Casino Filipino Silahis. BIR tax evasion raps Earlier in the day, the BIR filed with the Department of Justice a tax evasion complaint against Manalo-Tan for her alleged willful failure to supply the correct and accurate information on her Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for 2003 and 2004. Under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1987, an under-declaration of 30 percent in income already constitutes a prima facie (on its face) evidence of fraud. In Manalo-Tan's case, she supposedly under-declared her income by about 129-percent in 2003 (P37 million income declared only as P16 million), and 172-percent in 2004 (P70 million declared only as P26 million). The BIR said days before the tax evasion complaint was filed, Manalo-Tan amended her ITRs for the years 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2010. — Sophia Dedace/KBK, GMA News