To ensure the success of the
government's campaign against tax evaders, Senator Chiz Escudero on Monday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize the cases already pending with the courts.
According to Escudero, 36 tax evasion cases have been filed before the DOJ since the Aquino administration launched its campaign to run after tax cheats last year, but indictments have yet to be handed down.
â€The only way that tax evaders will see that the government is serious about this issue is when they see that cases are actually being filed in courts. What is taking the DOJ so long to act on these cases? The President and his administration are really serious about running after tax errants and the DOJ as the pit stop of this effort should also seriously participate in the process," Escudero explained.
Every week, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) jointly announce that they will file charges against suspected tax evaders and smugglers.
While the drive is most welcome to plug tax leaks and boost revenue collection, the senator said this must be done side by side with a serious partnership with the DOJ that has all the capability to see these cases move forward.
"This area in the drive against tax evaders should be connected, otherwise the program will just scratch the surface while those tax cheats will just continue laughing all their way to the banks," Escudero said.
Escudero urged the BIR, BOC and the DOJ to put their acts together towards one direction to effect real and actual tax collection which could translate into better social services for the people.
"The program is not enough unless it is compounded with institutional changes and steps that run parallel to the end goal collecting real and actual revenues for the state. This program must have something to show for to get the message out there that the government means serious business against tax evaders. It is time for the concerned agencies to perform and perform high at that," Escudero added. (PNA)
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