Did ABS-CBN Really Pay Only Half of What GMA-7 Paid in Taxes?
During yesterday's Congress hearing on ABS-CBN's franchise renewal, Deputy Speaker and SAGIP Partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta compared the amount of taxes paid by the embattled network and its rival GMA-7.
In 2017,GMA-7 paid P1.09 billion paid compared to ABS-CBN's P421 million. In 2018, GMA-7 coughed up P1.08 billion while ABS-CBN used its tax credits.
Marcoleta alleged that ABS-CBN subsidiary Big Dipper Digital Content and Design Inc. was used as a tax shield. He also added Big Dipper's main customer was a Hungary-registered company that was really ABS-CBN.
“Because of this unconscionable tax avoidance scheme, ABS-CBN’s alleged effective tax rate in 2018 was at -5 percent," said Marcoleta. "This means that ABS-CBN managed to avoid paying taxes in 2018.” The congressman also questioned why GMA-7, supposedly a much smaller company with a smaller income, paid nearly double of ABS-CBN's tax bill.
"Bakit naman nakalibre ang ABS-CBN noong 2018 sa negative income tax nila na P84 million?” Marcoleta asked. "Wala pong pagkakaiba ito, mga kababayan, sa isang taong nangutang sa tindahan, binigyan pa ito ng sukli.”
He said that ABS-CBN reneged on its taxes by negotiating with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, adding that the BIR accepted ABS-CBN's tax settlement worth only P152 million.
GMA Reaction
Respected GMA-7 writer Suzie Doctolero commented on the allegations via Facebook. The writer, responsible for some of the network's most successful projects Encantadia, Amaya, My Husband's Lover, The Rich Man's Daughter, and Sahaya, confessed that she wants ABS-CBN back on air for the competition.
“Mas gusto kong manalo na may kalaban. Mas may paksyet moment,” she wrote, describing her network's lonesome state as boring, sad, and unhealthy.
She did, however, comment proudly on GMA-7's tax paying, adding in Filipino that her company had "integrity."
Doctolero also questioned ABS-CBN's tax receipts, but said she didn't think too much about it: “Di ko alam kung bakit ganito ang figures nung sa kabila, nakakapagtaka nga naman pero ‘di ako accountant kaya ayokong ianalisa..bahala kayo diyan."
She continued her Facebook post with a few more questions on the matter:
"Alam kong ‘di ilegal ang tax avoidance pero bakit naman kumuha pa ng 84m sa gobyerno? Hindi ba’t tax din natin ito? Tsk.
According to Carlo Katigbak
ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak, however, maintained they followed the letter of the law and stated that his company had paid the right taxes to the BIR.
“We agree. The law is the law...and under the law, we are innocent under proven guilty," he declared. “Up to now, there is no court that has determined we have broken any laws.
Katigbak also reiterated that the BIR confirmed that they had paid their taxes, that SEC approved the issuance of Philippine Depository Receipts, that the Department of Justice confirmed that the Kapamilya Box Office Channel isn't going against the guidelines of the franchise, and that DOLE agreed that they followed all compliance orders.
This story originally appeared on Pep.ph.
* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.
