Tax court rejects Carlo J. Caparas’ bid to throw out case

Film director Carlo J. Caparas. Screengrabbed from Probe Production’s YouTube account

The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) denied the request of film director Carlo J. Caparas to file a motion questioning the evidence presented by the prosecution in his tax evasion case.

In a three-page resolution made public Monday, the CTA Third Division said the motion for leave to file a demurrer to evidence is still premature.

A demurrer to evidence is a motion filed after the prosecution has finished presenting its evidence and has rested its case. It is a motion filed seeking the dismissal of the case on the ground of insufficiency of evidence.

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

Caparas, through his counsel, said the evidence presented by the prosecution “is grossly insufficient or inadequate to establish his guilt of the crimes charged beyond reasonable ground.”

In their motion, Caparas said the Tax Identification Number (TIN) presented by the prosecution to support the case for non-filing of Value-Added Tax (VAT) returns does not belong to him but to another person.

“All the documents presented to prove the offense charged are hearsay, hence, inadmissible,” the motion stated.

They added that the prosecution also failed to present proof that there was omission on his part when he only relied on the representation made by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) that all payments made to him were net of taxes.

READ: Carlo J. Caparas posts bail for tax raps

The Tax court said the motion for leave to file a demurrer to evidence is premature because the prosecution has yet to rest its case.

The CTA explained that while a May 30, 2016 resolution was issued on the prosecution’s formal offer of evidence, the prosecution filed a partial motion for reconsideration which is still pending.

“In other words, the prosecution is yet to rest…the motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence at this stage of the proceedings is premature and should be denied,” the CTA said.

Caparas is accused of violating the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) for failing to file VAT returns for the years 2006 to 2009 resulting in deficiency taxes of P101,819,722.19.

Caparas was investigated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) when a television news reported two television shows funded by the PCSO and produced by Caparas caught the attention of the BIR.

The two shows entitled “Ang Pangarap Kong Jackpot” and “Kroko” were apparently part of the P1.3-billion contracts entered into by PCSO and Caparas, for which he received a total of P850.95 million from the years 2006 to 2009. RAM/rga