Arraignment of director Carlo J. Caparas over tax raps put on hold

The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) Second Division has cancelled the June 8 arraignment of movie director Carlo J. Caparas following a motion he filed to consolidate all four his four tax evasion cases.

Caparas is facing another four counts of tax evasions cases. Three of the four cases are with the CTA’s second division while the other case is with the CTA’s first division.

The CTA gave the Department of Justice (DOJ) 10 days upon receipt of the resolution comment on Caparas’ motion to consolidate.

Arraignment, on the other hand is cancelled until further orders of the court.

An arraignment is the reading of criminal case against an accused. It is important because it intends to protect the accused as he or she would be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him or her. It will also allow the court to proceed with the trial in case the accused went into hiding.

Caparas already posted P80,000 bail or P20,000 for each count of tax evasion cases for his temporary liberty.

Caparas was accused of failing to file his income tax for the years 2006 to 2009 and failed to declare his earnings for producing the “Ang Pangarap Kong Jackpot” television drama of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

The new batch of cases against Caparas was filed by the DOJ with the CTA last April. It stemmed from the complaint filed with the DOJ by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

He is facing four separate counts of tax evasion and is now undergoing trial for failing to file Value Added Tax (VAT) returns for the years 2006 to 2009 where BIR said his liability is P101,819,722.19. CDG

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