2 players in P6.4-B shabu smuggling charged with tax evasion

The BIR has filed tax evasion cases against Mark Taguba (left) and Kenneth Dong (right), who have been implicated in the smuggling of P6.4-billion worth of shabu from China. INQUIRER FILES

Two personalities implicated in the controversial P6.4-billion shabu shipment have been charged with tax evasion before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a press briefing on Thursday, Commissioner Caesar Dulay, of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), said P850-million tax cases were filed against customs fixer Mark Ruben Taguba while P11.4-million tax cases were filed against trader Yi Shen Dong, aka “Kenneth Dong.”

Dulay said Taguba failed to register with the BIR his business of facilitating the importation of goods at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) prior to his trucking and other “business ventures.”

In 2016, Taguba earned P1.2-billion, or P170,000 per container van, from being a “player” or “fixer,” Dulay said, citing congressional inquiries and data obtained from the BOC.

That year, he bought a Chevrolet Trailblazer worth P1.5-million and a Yamaha Mio worth P69,900, the commissioner said.

However, the BIR found that Taguba failed to file any income tax return or value added tax return from 2009 to 2016, and thus, failed to declare any income during the period, Dulay said.

Meanwhile, Dong, who was a “middleman” in Taguba’s venture, testified that he earned a referral fee of P5,000 to P10,000 per container van, Dulay said.

Dong told the Senate that he contributed millions of pesos to candidates during election campaigns, the commissioner noted.

In addition, Dong paid P850,000 in 2013 for a 2010 Toyota Fortuner, P4.5 million in 2016 for a 2010 BMW, and P2.4 million in 2016 for a 2013 Ford Expedition, Dulay said, citing documents culled by Land Transportation Office (LTO) investigators.

The businessman, together with his wife, also acquired a townhouse unit in Paranaque City worth P3.55 million in 2013 as shown in documents obtained from the city’s Registry of Deeds, said Dulay.

Despite these, Dong failed to file any income tax return, value added tax return, or percentage tax returns from 2003 to 2017 as per BIR records, the commissioner said.

The tax cases were prompted by congressional inquiries into 600 kilos of shabu smuggled from China, Dulay said. /cbb