MARIA RESSA POSTS BAIL FOR TAX CASES

Rappler executive editor Maria Ressa has posted a P204,000 bail at the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) on Tuesday for four tax evasion charges.

Ressa’s arraignment was set on the morning of Jan. 23.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corp. (RHC) with failing to declare a P162.41-million profit from the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) in 2015.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) claimed that the government lost P48.72 million in income taxes for the year 2015 and value added taxes of P17.14 million for the second to fourth quarters of the same year because of the failure of Ressa and Rappler to declare the profit.

Securities

PDRs are financial instruments allowing foreigners to invest in a Philippine media entity without owning any part of it or being involved in its management in violation of the Consti- tution’s full Filipino ownership requirement.

RHC purchased Rappler Inc. shares for a total subscription price of P19,245,975, but issued PDRs to foreign investors North Base Media Rappler L.P. and Omidyar Network Fund LLC at a marked-up price of P111,474,554.10 and P70,184,204.57

The DOJ, acting on the BIR’s complaint, treated such PDRs as traded securities that should have been taxed.

At the CTA, Ressa and RHC were charged with three counts of violating Section 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC).

This was for alleged failure to supply correct information in the 2015 annual income tax return and VAT returns for the third and fourth quarters of the same year.

Another CTA case pertained to one count of willful attempt to evade tax under Section 254 of the NIRC, for “deliberately and calculatedly not declaring” the gain.

One more case for violation of Section 255 of the NIRC was filed in the Pasig City Regional Trial Court.