DoJ to file tax evasion raps vs. former SSS chief

The Justice Department is set to file a P15-million tax evasion case against former Social Security Service chairman Romulo Neri, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III said on Thursday. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) The Justice Department is set to file a P15-million tax evasion case against former Social Security Service chairman Romulo Neri, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III said on Thursday.

Baraan said the case would be filed “either today [Thursday] or tomorrow [Friday].”

The case, to be filed at the Court of Tax Appeals, stemmed from Neri’s alleged failure to declare his correct income and taxes when he sat as a member of the board of Philex Mining Corp. from 2007 to 2010 and his director’s fees at Union Bank of the Philippines.

SSS is a minority stockholder in both companies and, as its president, Neri is entitled to a board seat.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue filed the tax evasion complaint against Neri in November last year.

In its complaint, the BIR said that based on its computations, Neri earned P11.3 million in 2008 and P34.2 million in 2009. The former SSS chief, however, did not declare his total income, resulting in a tax deficiency of P18.2 million, which includes interests and surcharges, the BIR said.

Neri’s case is the seventh tax evasion case filed by the Department of Justice with the courts since July 2010. Danica Hermogenes, INQUIRER.net; Radyo Inquirer