P3.6M tax evasion case filed vs. model-actress Solenn Heussaff

(Updated 6:15 p.m.) The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday filed a P3.6 million tax evasion case against model, actress and TV host Solenn Heussaff. According to the BIR, the French-Filipina model declared P6.73 million in gross income in her 2011 income tax return, and a taxable income of only P3.3 million for the year. A check with her clients and employers, however, among them GMA Network, San Miguel Brewery Inc, Ginebra San Miguel, Penshoppe and Tape Inc., revealed that she actually earned at least P13.39 million in 2011. The BIR said her underdeclaration constituted prima facie (Latin for at first sight) evidence of fraud. It assessed her deficiency tax liability at P3.6 million, including surcharge and interest. Heussaff, on her Twitter account, said she was "shocked" by this development. "I was shocked when I found about this because I’ve been assured all along by people I have entrusted my financial matters to that everything was being handled correctly," she tweeted. Apart from Heausaff, the BIR also pressed charges against the certified public accountant she hired, Teofilo C. Magno Jr., for violating Section 257 of the National Internal Revenue Code or making false entries in his client’s audited financial statement. Heussaff said she is having the issue "looked into and addressed now." "I assure everyone, especially my fans, that I will do only what is right here. That is how I and my siblings were brought up by our parents – to always be correct in all our dealings," she said on Twitter. Meanwhile, tax evasion cases were also filed against two Metro Manila-based businessmen—Thompson Ong Lua, owner of Thompson Hardware and Lighting Center in Mandaluyong, and Kristian Soriano, sole proprietor of Quiapo-based Natriks Enterprise. — Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News