DOJ sets tax suit hearing sked for PAGCOR coffee shop concessionaire

The Department of Justice has set for a hearing the tax evasion complaint against Carlota Cristi Manalo-Tan, the businesswoman linked to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.'s (PAGCOR) coffee deals. A DOJ panel led by Senior State Prosecutor Rosanne Balauag has scheduled the hearing at 2 p.m. on Oct. 7, almost two months after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed the complaint against Manalo-Tan. Manalo-Tan is the sole proprietor of Promolabels Specialty Shop, the company that cornered P700 million of the P1 billion the previous PAGCOR leadership supposedly spent on coffee for the gambling chain’s guests. Manalo-Tan used her maiden name "Lot Manalo" in signing the contract with PAGCOR to operate Figaro coffee shops in PAGCOR casinos in Parañaque City, Angeles City, Heritage Hotel, Olongapo City, Manila Pavilion, Tagaytay and the former Casino Filipino Silahis. Last Aug. 4, the BIR slapped Manalo-Tan with a tax evasion suit for her alleged willful failure to supply the correct and accurate information on her income tax returns (ITRs) for 2003 and 2004. Under-declared income The bureau claimed Manalo-Tan earned P107 million but declared only P42.88 million for the two taxable years. The BIR then said Manalo has about P59 million in total tax liabilities. Under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1987, an under-declaration of 30 percent in income already constitutes a prima facie evidence of fraud. In her case, Manalo-Tan 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. Manalo-Tan's lawyer, Lorna Kapunan, has already questioned the BIR's findings. "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. — VS, GMA News