Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay accused his political foes of resorting to "work of fiction" in their bid to undermine his reelection bid in the May 14 election.
Binay said his rivals were lying when they declared the alleged delinquency of his administration following an alleged report from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that the Makati City government failed to remit the withholding taxes of its local employees from 1999 to 2002.
Binay said the city government has settled all its tax obligations. "The city government has been faithfully remitting its obligations to the BIR. Our records show that we do not have any liabilities,’’ Binay said.
He said he even asked Finance Secretary Margarito Teves last Dec. 28 for a second meeting with BIR personnel after the first meeting failed to sort out the conflicting records of the city government and the BIR. However, the second meeting did not happen as the finance chief failed to show up.
Binay said BIR chief of withholding tax division Marivic Galban had been quoted in earlier press reports that Makati City had settled its previously unpaid tax requirements.
But last March 9, Galban sent a demand letter to Binay, the city treasurer and the city accountant asking them to settle the city government’s unpaid obligations of P1,150,331.321 for unremitted taxes from 1999 to 2002.
The letter also said the amount could go higher if the city government failed to settle its other obligations from 2003 up to the present. In her letter, Galban gave Binay up to March 30 to settle the city’s debt, warning him of the possible confiscation of his properties to offset the alleged uncollected liabilities.
Binay countered that there is no law that authorizes the BIR to garnish his properties assuming for the purpose of argument that the city failed to settle its unpaid tax obligations.
"That is patently ridiculous. There is no joint and solidary obligation. You do not garnish the private property of a public official if the government agency which he heads fails to settle its alleged obligations,’’ Binay said.
Binay claimed that his perennial critic, former Makati City councilor Oscar Ibay is using the erroneous unpaid tax issue against the city government to resuscitate his floundering campaign. (Chito A. Chavez)
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