In what the tax bureau says is a landmark decision, the Court of Tax appeals (CTA) has ordered the arrest of businesswoman Gloria Kintanar who was found to have evaded over P15 million in income taxes. 

 

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) claimed Kintanar did not file income tax returns in 2000 and 2001 despite earning hefty commissions as one of the top distributors of Forever Living, a marketing network that sells various products.

 

While her back taxes amounted to only P6.3 million when the tax agency filed the case in 2005, it ballooned to roughly P15 million because of the 20 percent delinquency interest that CTA slapped on Kintanar. 

 

The CTA also issued a writ of execution on Kintanar's properties after she went missing earlier this month. 

 

“Kintanar should have started her sentence on June 26 when she was due to appear in court but didn’t, claiming hypertension and dizziness,” the bureau said. “Kintanar submitted a notarized medical certificate from a clinic in Novaliches to support it. 

 

“The execution was rescheduled for July 2. Kintanar again failed to appear and submitted another notarized medical certificate from a hospital in Silang, Cavite," the BIR added.

 

The tax collection agency may seize the properties of individuals or companies in lieu of their obligations. These can be stocks, bank accounts and properties.

 

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares considers the Kintanar case a landmark case because of the “willful blindness” doctrine, which says that taxpayers are responsible for their tax returns and not just their accountants.

 

This is another victory for the tax agency in its campaign against tax evasion and increase tax collection, the bureau noted.

 

BIR has been filing a series of tax evasion cases against individuals, politicians, and private corporations. — AE/VS, GMA News