Trader to NBI: Probe ‘tax cheater’ allegations

A BUSINESSMAN in Cebu City has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate and identify the source of a malicious text message against him circulating since last month.

Henry Sia, 47, and owner of Modern School and Office Supply on Manalili St., denied the allegations in the text message that he is not paying his taxes religiously despite his sales of P1.5 billion a year.

Sia was surprised because the message contains his complete address and contact numbers.

Sia, with his lawyer Vicente Fernandez, in a press conference vehemently denied the accusation.

Sia said he is a religious tax payer and besides, the sales of P1.5 billion a year is impossible to attain.

Fernandez said Sia’s business is not that big.

Sia himseld received the text message as well as his friends from the different parts of the country who called him to verify.

He suspects that a competitor or disgruntled employees could be behind this because he had a labor case years back.

They also believe that it is a form of extortion as Sia also received another text message asking him to prepare money in order to stop further circulation of the message.

“If you want all this malevolent texts to stop then you must sacrifice some funds to facilitate the end of all further embarrassment it may cause you. You know the drill…Just pay your way out of it. Some people will touch base with you soon. Di kami basta basta na organisasyon-meron kaming impluwensya at kapangyarihan”, the alleged text message received by Sia.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue also confirmed receiving a similar text message.

Assistant Regional Director Conrado Lee of BIR Region 13, which has jurisdiction over Cebu City and some parts of Metro Cebu, said he and BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe also got the message.

Lee said even if Sia is already aware on the accusations against him, BIR will verify the veracity of the information in the text message.

“We should act on it”, he said. /Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan