BIR slaps Rappler with tax evasion

MANILA, Philippines — The parent company of online news site Rappler and its president Maria Ressa are facing a tax evasion complaint before the Department of Justice.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Thursday filed a criminal complaint against Rappler Holdings Corp., Ressa and treasurer James Bitanga for a perceived willful attempt to evade tax.

The respondents are also accused of deliberately failing to supply correct and accurate information in the company's annual income tax return in 2015.

The BIR said that Rappler failed to file the income tax and value added tax that it has gained from Philippine Depositary Receipts transactions.

Rappler Holdings Corp. purchased common shares amounting to P19.2 million on various dates, according to the BIR. The company also issued and sold PDRs worth P181.7 million to two foreign entities.

"As a consequence of its acts and omissions, the aggregate tax liability of [Rappler] amounted to P133,841,305.75 broken down as follows IT — P91,320,481.08; and VAT — P42,520,824.67," the BIR said in a release.

Rappler violated Sections 253(d) and 256 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, the BIR said.

The company's accountant, Noel Baladiang of R.G. Manabat & Co., was also charged of violating the Tax Code for signing and certifying the financial statements of Rappler despite the omission of the company's actual taxable income.

Rappler dealing with blows

The tax complaint is the latest in a slew of cases against the news site critical of the Duterte administration.

The Securities and Exchange Commission in January revoked the registration of Rappler and accused the company of violating constitutional restrictions on ownership and control of mass media entities.

Rappler also faced a cyberlibel complaint over an investigative report. The case which was subsequently dismissed for going beyond the one-year prescriptive period for libel.

Last month, Malacañang banned Rappler from its premises, citing the SEC decision.