SC affirms tax conviction of multilevel marketer

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has affirmed a Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) decision sentencing multilevel marketer Gloria Kintanar for tax evasion.

Kintanar, a distributor of direct selling firm Forever Living Products, was meted out two to four years in jail, fined P20,000, and ordered to pay the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) P6.3 million in taxes.

In a notice sent to the BIR, the high court’s third division informed the agency that a resolution related to the case had been issued as early Nov. 16, 2011.

The resolution was signed on Jan. 2 and was received by the BIR on Jan. 24.

Lucita Abjelina-Soriano, division clerk of court, said the tribunal denied with finality Kintanar’s motion for reconsideration of the CTA decision because “no compelling reason exists and no substantial arguments were raised to warrant its reconsideration.”

No more pleadings

Also, the high court resolved that no further pleadings or motions regarding the case would be entertained.

In 2005, the BIR filed the case against Kintanar for failing to file her income tax return for 2000 and 2001.

The BIR said Kintanar earned substantial income as an independent contractor of Forever Living Products Philippines Inc. (FLPPI) and that the agency had asked her several times from 2003 to 2005 to pay her taxes.

Based on BIR investigation, FLPPI had been paying her commissions for selling its products from 1999 to 2001. Kintanar had cashed or cleared her commission checks at the North Greenhills branch of the Bank of Philippine Islands, where she maintained an account.

Kintanar claimed she had entrusted the task of filing her income tax returns to her husband who had, in turn, entrusted the duty to an accountant they hired.