DOJ junks tax evasion, falsification raps vs. Richard Gutierrez

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed complaints of tax evasion and falsification of documents against actor Richard Gutierrez and his production company.

In two resolutions dated June 29 and and July 31, 2018 seen Wednesday, Assistant State Prosecutor Christine Perolino decided that the Bureau of Internal Revenue's (BIR) evidence against the actor was insufficient to charge him in court.

The tax complaint was based on allegations that Gutierrez's RGUTZ Production Corp. willfully evaded paying taxes for 2012 by not declaring its sales in its annual income tax return (AITR) and in its second, third, and fourth quarterly value-added tax (VAT) returns, and that it failed to file its AITR and VAT returns for the same quarters.

The BIR alleged the company under-declared sales of P39.6 million and evaded P7.4 million in income tax and P11.1 million in VAT.

On the other hand, the BIR's falsification and perjury complaint alleged that Gutierrez knowingly submitted fake tax returns to secure the dismissal of the earlier filed tax evasion complaint.

After weighing the parties' evidence, the DOJ decided that willfulness—an element of tax evasion—to commit the alleged crimes "appears lacking" in the case. It also said Gutierrez showed evidence that GMA Network withheld taxes from RGUTZ, which the BIR "did not assail."

"Likewise, the subject returns submitted by respondent showed that RGUTZ filed its returns and accordingly paid its taxes," one of the resolutions stated.

The DOJ also said the BIR tried to address procedural issues raised by Gutierrez by notifying his company of an internal revenue tax examination only after the complaint was filed, showing a "lack of final determination of the tax due from the respondent."

As to the falsification complaint, the DOJ said it would be "unlikely" for Gutierrez's accountant, who supposedly filed the questioned tax returns, to falsify the BIR rubber stamp and the initials in the documents.

And even granting the signatures of the revenue officer named in the papers were falsified, the DOJ said the presumption that the owner of the document committed the forgery is "inapplicable" in the case, because Gutierrez "is not the one to be benefited therefrom as the subject returns were for RGUTZ."

"Respondent Gutierrez was merely an officer of RGUTZ and if there be any benefit he may have received therefrom would only have been incidental," the DOJ said.

The two resolutions were approved by Acting Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon. — BM, GMA News