Singer-businesswoman in hot water over P417.8M tax case
WAR VS TAX EVADERS. The BIR has been going after tax evaders to plug the holes in the country's tax system. File photo by AFP
MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals has found singer and bus operator Claire dela Fuente guilty of “indirect contempt” in relation to a P417.8-million ($9.5 million*) tax evasion case filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) against her bus company.
The CA's Special 15th Division ruled that Dela Fuente had committed “forum shopping” to secure a favorable ruling in the case against her bus company, Philippine Corinthian Line Corporation (PCLC).
"This Court cannot countenance petitioners who resort to the reprehensible practice of forum shopping which manipulates the court system, abuses its processes, degrades the administration of justice, and wastes valuable judicial resources," CA Associate Justice Pedro Corales said in the14-page decision.
De la Fuente and PCLC were ordered to pay a fine of P2,000 ($45.86) each. The CA warned that future offenses will result to graver penalties.
According to a BIR complaint filed in September 2005, PCLC allegedly failed to file tax returns and to pay due taxes from 1997 to 2004.
De Lima resolution
De la Fuente previously filed a petition for mandamus, prohibition, and certiorari against the BIR and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
Dela Fuente complained about De Lima’s November 2, 2010 resolution which reversed an earlier resolution issued by her predecessor, then Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, throwing out the tax evasion case.
De Lima ordered the re-filing of the tax evasion case, saying that there was basis for the BIR’s accusations.
In August 2012, the CA's 16th Division dismissed De la Fuente's petition and motion for reconsideration. She was then prompted to elevate the case to the Supreme Court.
‘Forum shopping’
During the pendency of her case, De la Fuente filed a motion for reconsideration of De Lima's 2010 resolution which De Lima denied on June 27, 2012.
De la Fuente subsequently filed another petition before the CA on De Lima’s June 2012 resolution.
The CA responded that filing a motion for reconsideration with the Department of Justice despite the pendency of the CA case is a “clear case of forum shopping" since De la Fuente sought two separate remedies simultaneously with two different judicial venues – the DOJ and the CA – to obtain one and the same relief, the reversal of De Lima’s 2010 resolution.
“We therefore impose the maximum corresponding penalty, without prejudice to the appropriate administrative sanctions, and sternly warn petitioners against similar behavior in the future,” the CA said. – Rappler.com
$1 = P43.6
