Malampaya contractor charged

A contractor of the Malampaya fund infrastructure project and a bus operator were charged with tax evasion in two separate cases yesterday.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said Agerico Banzon, owner of Palawan-based Banz Built Construction, has an assessed tax liability amounting to P62.46 million after he failed to file income tax returns in 2009 and 2010, as well as value-added tax returns in 2008-2010.

Banzon was also found to have underdeclared his gross receipts by P17.5 million or by over 6,000 percent in 2008.

It is the BIR’s second complaint against a contractor bankrolled by the Malampaya Fund.

The BIR’s complaint against German Espiritu Liner president Cecilio German and treasurer Erlinda German was due to willful attempt to evade taxes and failure to file quarterly percentage tax returns for 2010 to 2012.

German Espiritu Liner was assessed a tax deficiency of P4.2 million, inclusive of surcharge and interest.

It operates as a public transport plying the route Bulacan-Cubao-Divisoria.

Section 117 of the Tax Code states that persons transporting passengers for hire and other domestic carriers by land must pay a percentage tax equivalent to three percent of their quarterly gross receipts, the BIR said.