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    [results] => Array
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            [0] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 236122
                    [Title] => Solon pushes collection of La Suerte’s P3-B back taxes
                    [Summary] => La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory should pay the taxes it owes the government after the Parañaque Regional Trial Court rejected the petition of the company to stop a new revenue regulation raising excise taxes on its brands. 


Based on estimates by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the government can collect P3 billion from La Suerte’s Astro and Memphis brands alone, which were introduced in the market in 1999.


                    [DatePublished] => 2004-01-23 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [1] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 233394
                    [Title] => BIR asks Congress to rectify ‘inequity’ in cigarette brands
                    [Summary] => The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said yesterday that the courts will be more convinced to speed up cases against some cigarette companies if the "inequitous differential treatment" of existing brands versus new brands can be rectified by Congress.


This was the response of BIR Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr. to a challenge aired by some House members that the BIR should collect taxes first due from big companies like La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory before pushing for a new excise tax law.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-12-30 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1804865
                    [AuthorName] => Pia Lee-Brago
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [2] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 231446
                    [Title] => DOF challenged to collect uncollected taxes
                    [Summary] => Congressmen challenged the Department of Finance yesterday to first collect the huge amount of taxes due from big companies like La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory before pushing for a new excise tax law.


"Congress’ reluctance to impose new taxes hinges on its strong conviction that government must first collect what it has been empowered to collect under existing tax laws before we can agree to any new tax," said administration Rep. Exequiel Javier, former chairman of the House ways and means committee.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-12-13 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [3] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 227386
                    [Title] => GMA asked to stop BIR from raising excise tax on new cigarette brands
                    [Summary] => Employees of La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory are appealing to President Arroyo to stop the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from implementing Revenue Regulation 22-2003 which  raises the excise tax on new brands of cigarettes.


In a letter to President Arroyo, the three labor unions of La Suerte said BIR-RR 22-2003 would raise the price of La Suerte’s Astro and Memphis brands from P8 per pack to P12.50 per pack or by 57 percent.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-11-10 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [4] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 227226
                    [Title] => We admire Villaruel, not his violent means
                    [Summary] => SUNDAY SHARING: If you have fast Internet connection, we strongly urge you  to visit these two sites: www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup3.html and  www.pathways-to-peace.com. Excellent Sunday fare for the family!


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-11-09 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 136322
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1804858
                    [AuthorName] => Federico D. Pascual Jr.
                    [SectionName] => Opinion
                    [SectionUrl] => opinion
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [5] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 226633
                    [Title] => La Suerte secures TRO vs higher taxes
                    [Summary] => La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory Inc. has been able to secure a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) against the imposition of higher taxes on its new cigarettes by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).


The TRO was issued by the Parañaque Regional Trial Court following a petition from La Suerte against a 400-percent increase on taxes to be imposed on its new cigarette brands – Astro and Memphis.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-11-04 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1805266
                    [AuthorName] => Marianne V. Go
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [6] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 224681
                    [Title] => Additional taxes may kill tobacco industry, warns solon
                    [Summary] => A senior  lawmaker has criticized the Department of Finance for pressuring Congress to reclassify cigarettes to a higher tax bracket so the government can generate more revenues, stressing that the tobacco sector is already an overtaxed industry.


Rep. Exequiel Javier, former chairman of the House ways and means committee, said for the last 10 years, the excise taxes on cigarettes had been raised by Congress unsparingly and without letup, starting with the shift from ad valorem to specific tax.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-10-19 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [7] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 219978
                    [Title] => No number one and no number two
                    [Summary] => There’s talk in Binondo that this very wealthy man has dropped wife number five who hails from Cebu.


With just four official wives – four is such an unlucky number – the man is expected to quickly look for a replacement for the uh, good of the business.
* * *

Well, this bank chairman has submitted his resignation but many of the senior officers only learned about it during a birthday party two days later. 


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-09-09 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 135040
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1488513
                    [AuthorName] => Margaret Jao-Grey 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [8] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 216270
                    [Title] => No new tax bills seen without improved excise tax collection
                    [Summary] => 
Malacañang cannot expect Congress to act on pending revenue measures unless the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) finally reclassifies and collects the right excise taxes from new cigarette brands, it was disclosed yesterday.


In a public hearing yesterday, the House ways and means committee approved a motion by Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric D. Singson to suspend consideration of all pending revenue bills endorsed by the Department of Finance (DoF) saying that government should first collect the right excise taxes from new cigarette brands introduced after October 1996.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-08-06 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [9] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 214716
                    [Title] => BIR sees P2-B add’l revenue from cigarette tax
                    [Summary] => The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects to raise nearly P2 billion in additional revenue based on the results of a nationwide survey of new cigarette brands which the agency released yesterday.


In a public hearing presided by BIR Commissioner Guillermo Parayno and Finance Undersecretary Grace Pulido Tan, 11 of the 30 cigarette brands surveyed by the BIR were found to have higher retail prices than originally declared with the bureau. The survey was conducted in March in compliance with a directive from the BIR chief and Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-07-24 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1096615
                    [AuthorName] =>  Christina Mendez
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

        )

)

ASTRO AND MEMPHIS

Array
(
    [results] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 236122
                    [Title] => Solon pushes collection of La Suerte’s P3-B back taxes
                    [Summary] => La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory should pay the taxes it owes the government after the Parañaque Regional Trial Court rejected the petition of the company to stop a new revenue regulation raising excise taxes on its brands. 


Based on estimates by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the government can collect P3 billion from La Suerte’s Astro and Memphis brands alone, which were introduced in the market in 1999.


                    [DatePublished] => 2004-01-23 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [1] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 233394
                    [Title] => BIR asks Congress to rectify ‘inequity’ in cigarette brands
                    [Summary] => The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said yesterday that the courts will be more convinced to speed up cases against some cigarette companies if the "inequitous differential treatment" of existing brands versus new brands can be rectified by Congress.


This was the response of BIR Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr. to a challenge aired by some House members that the BIR should collect taxes first due from big companies like La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory before pushing for a new excise tax law.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-12-30 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1804865
                    [AuthorName] => Pia Lee-Brago
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [2] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 231446
                    [Title] => DOF challenged to collect uncollected taxes
                    [Summary] => Congressmen challenged the Department of Finance yesterday to first collect the huge amount of taxes due from big companies like La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory before pushing for a new excise tax law.


"Congress’ reluctance to impose new taxes hinges on its strong conviction that government must first collect what it has been empowered to collect under existing tax laws before we can agree to any new tax," said administration Rep. Exequiel Javier, former chairman of the House ways and means committee.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-12-13 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [3] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 227386
                    [Title] => GMA asked to stop BIR from raising excise tax on new cigarette brands
                    [Summary] => Employees of La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory are appealing to President Arroyo to stop the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from implementing Revenue Regulation 22-2003 which  raises the excise tax on new brands of cigarettes.


In a letter to President Arroyo, the three labor unions of La Suerte said BIR-RR 22-2003 would raise the price of La Suerte’s Astro and Memphis brands from P8 per pack to P12.50 per pack or by 57 percent.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-11-10 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [4] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 227226
                    [Title] => We admire Villaruel, not his violent means
                    [Summary] => SUNDAY SHARING: If you have fast Internet connection, we strongly urge you  to visit these two sites: www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup3.html and  www.pathways-to-peace.com. Excellent Sunday fare for the family!


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-11-09 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 136322
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1804858
                    [AuthorName] => Federico D. Pascual Jr.
                    [SectionName] => Opinion
                    [SectionUrl] => opinion
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [5] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 226633
                    [Title] => La Suerte secures TRO vs higher taxes
                    [Summary] => La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory Inc. has been able to secure a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) against the imposition of higher taxes on its new cigarettes by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).


The TRO was issued by the Parañaque Regional Trial Court following a petition from La Suerte against a 400-percent increase on taxes to be imposed on its new cigarette brands – Astro and Memphis.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-11-04 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1805266
                    [AuthorName] => Marianne V. Go
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [6] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 224681
                    [Title] => Additional taxes may kill tobacco industry, warns solon
                    [Summary] => A senior  lawmaker has criticized the Department of Finance for pressuring Congress to reclassify cigarettes to a higher tax bracket so the government can generate more revenues, stressing that the tobacco sector is already an overtaxed industry.


Rep. Exequiel Javier, former chairman of the House ways and means committee, said for the last 10 years, the excise taxes on cigarettes had been raised by Congress unsparingly and without letup, starting with the shift from ad valorem to specific tax.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-10-19 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [7] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 219978
                    [Title] => No number one and no number two
                    [Summary] => There’s talk in Binondo that this very wealthy man has dropped wife number five who hails from Cebu.


With just four official wives – four is such an unlucky number – the man is expected to quickly look for a replacement for the uh, good of the business.
* * *

Well, this bank chairman has submitted his resignation but many of the senior officers only learned about it during a birthday party two days later. 


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-09-09 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 135040
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1488513
                    [AuthorName] => Margaret Jao-Grey 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [8] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 216270
                    [Title] => No new tax bills seen without improved excise tax collection
                    [Summary] => 
Malacañang cannot expect Congress to act on pending revenue measures unless the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) finally reclassifies and collects the right excise taxes from new cigarette brands, it was disclosed yesterday.


In a public hearing yesterday, the House ways and means committee approved a motion by Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric D. Singson to suspend consideration of all pending revenue bills endorsed by the Department of Finance (DoF) saying that government should first collect the right excise taxes from new cigarette brands introduced after October 1996.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-08-06 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 
                    [AuthorName] => 
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

            [9] => Array
                (
                    [ArticleID] => 214716
                    [Title] => BIR sees P2-B add’l revenue from cigarette tax
                    [Summary] => The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects to raise nearly P2 billion in additional revenue based on the results of a nationwide survey of new cigarette brands which the agency released yesterday.


In a public hearing presided by BIR Commissioner Guillermo Parayno and Finance Undersecretary Grace Pulido Tan, 11 of the 30 cigarette brands surveyed by the BIR were found to have higher retail prices than originally declared with the bureau. The survey was conducted in March in compliance with a directive from the BIR chief and Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho.


                    [DatePublished] => 2003-07-24 00:00:00
                    [ColumnID] => 133272
                    [Focus] => 0
                    [AuthorID] => 1096615
                    [AuthorName] =>  Christina Mendez
                    [SectionName] => Business
                    [SectionUrl] => business
                    [URL] => 
                )

        )

)

abtest

Solon pushes collection of La Suerte’s P3-B back taxes

January 23, 2004 - 12:00am

La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory should pay the taxes it owes the government after the Parañaque Regional Trial Court rejected the petition of the company to stop a new revenue regulation raising excise...

Business

BIR asks Congress to rectify ‘inequity’ in cigarette brands

By Pia Lee-Brago | December 30, 2003 - 12:00am

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said yesterday that the courts will be more convinced to speed up cases against some cigarette companies if the "inequitous differential treatment" of existing brands...

Business

DOF challenged to collect uncollected taxes

December 13, 2003 - 12:00am

Congressmen challenged the Department of Finance yesterday to first collect the huge amount of taxes due from big companies like La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory before pushing for a new excise tax law. "Congress’...

Business

GMA asked to stop BIR from raising excise tax on new cigarette brands

November 10, 2003 - 12:00am

Employees of La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory are appealing to President Arroyo to stop the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from implementing Revenue Regulation 22-2003 which raises the excise tax on new brands...

Business

We admire Villaruel, not his violent means

By POSTSCRIPT | By Federico D. Pascual Jr. | November 9, 2003 - 12:00am

SUNDAY SHARING: If you have fast Internet connection, we strongly urge you to visit these two sites: www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup3.html and www.pathways-to-peace.com. Excellent Sunday fare for the family...

Opinion

La Suerte secures TRO vs higher taxes

By Marianne V. Go | November 4, 2003 - 12:00am

La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory Inc. has been able to secure a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) against the imposition of higher taxes on its new cigarettes by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). The...

Business

Additional taxes may kill tobacco industry, warns solon

October 19, 2003 - 12:00am

A senior lawmaker has criticized the Department of Finance for pressuring Congress to reclassify cigarettes to a higher tax bracket so the government can generate more revenues, stressing that the tobacco sector...

Business

No number one and no number two

By Margaret Jao-Grey  | September 9, 2003 - 12:00am

There’s talk in Binondo that this very wealthy man has dropped wife number five who hails from Cebu. With just four official wives – four is such an unlucky number – the man is expected to quickly...

Business

No new tax bills seen without improved excise tax collection

August 6, 2003 - 12:00am

Malacañang cannot expect Congress to act on pending revenue measures unless the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) finally reclassifies and collects the right excise taxes from new cigarette brands, it was...

Business

BIR sees P2-B add’l revenue from cigarette tax

By Christina Mendez | July 24, 2003 - 12:00am

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects to raise nearly P2 billion in additional revenue based on the results of a nationwide survey of new cigarette brands which the agency released yesterday. In a public...

Business