4 gold traders owe P4.7B, says BIR

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed tax evasion charges against four gold traders who allegedly owe the government about P4.76 billion in taxes from sales of the precious metal between 2005 and 2009.

Charged were Sylvia Chua Cantoria of Caloocan City, Diomedita Canonigo of Parañaque City, and Ronald Castro and Felonila Caluag, both of Meycauayan, Bulacan.

Castro and Caluag have gold trading businesses based in Marilao, Bulacan; Cantoria in Trece Martires, Cavite; and Canonigo in Talisay, Cebu.

BIR deputy commissioner Estela Sales, head of the agency’s legal and inspection group, said the four traders had engaged in gold transactions with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), but failed to file income tax returns for their businesses as well as personal income tax returns.

The BIR based the charges against the four gold traders on the letters of delivery and sales obtained from the BSP that detailed the number of pieces and the weight of the gold that they had sold to the central bank.

Cantoria sold refined gold amounting to P1.04 billion from 2006 to 2008; Canonigo sold P2.55 billion from 2005 and 2009; Caluag, P1.27 billion, also from 2005 to 2009; and Castro, P2.35 billion, also from 2005 to 2009.

72 returns unfiled

According to Sales, Castro, Caluag and Canonigo failed to file 20 tax returns each, and Cantoria 12.

Canonigo’s income tax deficiency, including surcharges and interest, was assessed at P1.65 billion for five taxable years, broken down as follows: P205.28 million in 2005, P353.41 million in 2006, P298.81 million in 2007, P371.95 million in 2008 and P419.66 million in 2009.

Castro allegedly failed to pay P1.56 billion in income taxes for the same period, broken down as follows: P48.70 million in 2005, P359.89 million in 2006, P544 million in 2007, P595.7 million in 2008 and P12.29 million in 2009.

Caluag was assessed P865.15 million from 2005 to 2009, and Cantoria for P683.41 million from 2006 to 2008.

Violations of Tax Code

Canonigo and Castro will each be charged with five counts of attempting to evade or defeat taxes, 15 counts of failure to file quarterly income tax returns (QITRs) and five counts of failure to file annual income tax returns (AITRs)—all violations of Sections 254 and 255 of the Tax Code.

Caluag will be charged with five counts of attempting to evade or defeat taxes, 15 counts of failure to file QITRs, and five counts of failure to file AITRs.

Cantoria will be charged with three counts of attempting to evade or defeat taxes; nine counts of failure to file QITRs, and three counts of failure to file AITRs.

The charges against the four bring to 42 the number of cases filed under the BIR’s Run After Tax Evaders (Rate) program during the incumbency of Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs Thursday said it had seized a molding machine and a shipment of tiles and accessories that were allegedly undervalued by their consignees.

Horacio Suansing, deputy customs commissioner for enforcement, said he ordered the confiscation of a plastic injection molding machine that its importer, Columbia Plastic Manufacturing, had allegedly underdeclared as being worth only $16,000, or P720,000.
The BoC valuation and classification division, however, placed its value at between $27,500 and $42,000, Suansing said.