CEBU, Philippines - Banco De Oro never violated the law when it comes to its business permits.
In a recent post on its Facebook account, BDO Unibank also said Mayor Tomas Osmeña's statement to the contrary is "uncalled for considering that BDO adhered to the legal definition of gross receipts."
In the same statement, BDO said its branch in Magallanes Street made sure it followed the law and regulations in filing in the many years it has applied for a business permit.
"For 2016, BDO Magallanes Branch is guided by the legal definition of gross receipts when it applied for its 2016 business permit with the Cebu City Government," the statement reads.
The statement also states that under local tax laws, gross receipts include specific sources of income of a branch.
Each branch gets its own income from volume and amount of its transactions, the statement reads further.
"For 2016, BDO Magallanes Branch is guided by the legal definition of gross receipts when it applied for its 2016 business permit with the Cebu City Government," it added.
Until now, BDO reportedly has not yet received a formal assessment from the city government, as far as its local business tax is concerned.
BDO said further that the bank should not be blamed for the city's failures in its tax collection.
BDO said for the city to compare its tax to that of a janitor is "unjustified and highly unfair" since the two have different bases and tax rates.
To recall, Osmeña divulged that BDO pays P6 of tax per day, which is tantamount to cheating.
In a letter dated February 9 published in The Freeman, Osmeña cited the low tax BDO paid and said he will not let the bank fool the city.
"Alis dyan," he tells BDO.
Earlier this year, Osmeña sued BDO for allegedly under-declaring its gross sales at P400,000.
Before he left for Japan last week, Osmeña said he will stand by his decision to close the bank's Magallanes branch upon his return this week.
Renewal of business permits for the bank's remaining branches in the city has been put on hold pending investigation into its tax declaration.
Record shows that there are at least 26 BDO branches in the city, including the Magallanes branch. — Vania Lim (FREEMAN)