Court junks tax raps vs Maria Ressa

Court junks tax raps vs Maria Ressa

(UPDATE) THE Court of Tax Appeals dismissed the four tax evasion cases filed against Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corp. (RHC) in March 2018.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) filed the charges against Ressa and her digital news organization for their alleged failure to declare taxable income worth P141.86 million generated from the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) to foreign investors Omidyar Network (ON) and North Base Media (NBM) in 2015.

PDRs are financial instruments that give foreign investors economic interest in a Philippine-owned company.

Ressa and Rappler denied the charges arguing PDRs are legitimate financial mechanisms that do not generate taxable income.

In its 80-page decision signed by Associate Justices Jean Marie Bacorro-Villena and Marian Ivy Reyes-Fajardo, the CTA said the prosecution failed to prove Ressa’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The court voted 3-0 to decide the “non-taxability of the issuance of PDRs to North Base Media and Omidyar Network.”

“No gain or income was realized by the accused in the subject transactions,” it said.

“Since accused is not required to pay the income tax and VAT on the PDR transactions for the taxable year 2015, the elements of Sections 254 and 255 of the 1977 NIRC as amended, are rendered nugatory and without legal support. The plaintiff therefore failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt,” it added.

Francis Lim, legal counsel of Ressa, said that if PDRs were declared to be taxable income just to convict his client, every business seeking to raise capital would be affected.

“At the end of the day, it’s our economy, it’s our people through job generation that will benefit. Imagine if Maria was convicted, the repercussions,” Lim said following the acquittal of Ressa.

“We had no doubt this day would come. I told them to keep the faith, because in our hearts we knew an acquittal would come. We trust our judiciary, everybody knew where this case came from,” he added.

Ressa thanked the court for its ruling.

She said that the decision proved that she and Rappler were not tax evaders.

Ressa and Rappler face three more cases: a separate tax case filed by government prosecutors in another court, her Supreme Court appeal on a June 2020 online libel conviction, and Rappler’s appeal against the closure order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The embassies of Canada and the Netherlands welcomed Ressa’s acquittal.

Both countries are co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition.

“Today’s acquittal by the Philippines’ Court of Tax Appeals on the tax evasion cases against Rappler Holdings Corp. and Maria Ressa marks an important and positive step towards upholding rule of law and media freedom,” the two embassies said in a statement.

“Any measure that undermines the independence and freedom of the press must be strictly scrutinized with the highest standards of law and human rights,” they added.

Sen. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros expressed hope that the other charges against Ressa will be dropped.

“This ongoing campaign of harassment against Maria Ressa and Rappler, as well as other independent and critical journalists, only wastes government funds, resources and attention. These vindictive efforts should end immediately” she said.