DOJ stands by tax charges vs Rappler

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa – who has consistently called the tax charges a case of political persecution – is scheduled to be arraigned in Pasig on Feb. 6. ABC

MANILA – The Department of Justice is standing by its decision to charge online media outlet Rappler in court for tax evasion.

In two recent resolutions, Assistant State Prosecutor Zenamar Machacon-Caparros denied the motions for reconsideration filed by Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC), Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, and accountant Noel Baladiang questioning her finding that they were indictable for violation of the Tax Code.

Caparros said she saw “no sustainable ground” to reverse, set aside, or modify her initial resolution, which led to the filing of four cases before the Court of Tax Appeals and one before the Pasig Regional Trial Court.

The cases stemmed from allegations by the Bureau of Internal Revenue that the company failed to pay taxes out of the income it gained from the sale of Philippine Depositary Receipts in 2015.

Ressa, who has consistently called the charges a case of political persecution, is scheduled to be arraigned in Pasig on Feb. 6.

In rejecting the veteran journalist’s appeal, Caparros denied that she deprived Rappler of its right of moving for the reconsideration of her earlier resolution by filing the cases before the CTA before the 15-day reglementary period ended.

“We take exception to such allegation as this Office is all for giving parties the fair chance of availing all legal remedies,” the prosecutor wrote.

Caparros also stood by her finding that RHC is considered to have dealt in securities, contrary to the firm’s claim, on account of the “volume and frequency” of the alleged securities transactions.

“It is the substance and not the form that determines taxability, so to speak,” she wrote. “In this instance, the subject transactions are in substance buying and selling and/or dispositions of securities—by a dealer, which respondents have clearly and deliberately failed to acknowledge for taxation.”

She added that she had already considered the other arguments raised by RHC, Ressa, and Baladiang when she first found cause to indict them last year.

Her resolutions denying the motions for reconsideration were approved by Acting Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon. (GMA News/PN)

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