NAPOLES’ DAUGHTER CLEARED OF TAX RAP
The Court of Tax Appeals has dismissed the P17.46-million tax evasion case against the daughter of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles due to the failure of state prosecutors to save vital evidence from being thrown out.
In a resolution dated Dec. 6, the court’s Third Division granted Jeane Catherine Napoles’ demurrer on the charges of tax evasion and failure to file her tax return for 2011 on the ground of “insufficiency of evidence.”
A demurrer is a motion filed by the accused challenging the sufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence to lead to a conviction even without rebuttal. If the evidence is not solid enough, the trial is cut short and the accused is acquitted.
The two criminal cases concerned allegedly unpaid taxes on the purchase of a posh $1.28-million (P54.73 million) Ritz Carlton condominium unit when she was studying in Los Angeles, California.
The tax court in its Aug. 8 resolution did not admit four of the Department of Justice’s 29 exhibits.
Rejected evidence
Although the rejected evidence served as the basis for the tax claim of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the prosecutors “failed to file any motion for reconsideration.”
The evidence included two property documents that pegged the value of the Los Angeles property at $1.28 million.
But prosecutors failed to present the original copy of one of the property documents, and the witnesses could not properly identify another property document.
This left only the grant deed, which stated documentary transfer taxes of $1,408 and $5,760 without indicating the property’s worth, as the lone proof of the value of Napoles’ residence.
Hornbook principle
The court disagreed with the prosecution’s argument that the value of the property could be computed based on the taxes paid in California.
This was because the prosecution failed to show proof of the tax rate and the computation method applica- ble to the transaction.
“It is a hornbook principle that the party invoking the application of a foreign law has the burden of proving the law, under the doctrine of processual presumption. The Philippines does not take judicial notice of foreign laws, hence, they must be proven by presenting a copy thereof,” the resolution read.
Reasonable doubt
Since the value of Napoles’ property could not be proven, the Court of Tax Appeals said: “The prosecution failed to prove that there is any income tax due from accused, creating reasonable doubt as to the guilt of accused.”
As a final jab, the tax court reminded public prosecutors to “carefully study the evidence on record and ensure that they conform with the rules of admissibility, in order not to frustrate the State’s interest in enforcing its criminal laws and adversely affect the administration of justice.”
The court did not dwell on Napoles’ other argument that she was a nonresident Filipino who was not required to pay taxes or file returns.
Associate Justices Lovell R. Bautista, Esperanza R. FabonVictorino and Ma. Belen M. Ringpis-Liban signed the resolution.
Napoles is currently seeking the reopening of the trial for her separate petition questioning her P40.03-million tax assessment for 2011 and 2012, still in connection with the Ritz Carlton property.
She was cast into the limelight after her lavish lifestyle was publicized during the height of the controversy faced by her mother, who was accused of diverting lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations to bogus nongovernment organizations.