The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed a ₱7.1 billion tax evasion case against contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, along with an official from their company St. Gerrard Construction, on Wednesday, October 8.
According to the BIR Commissioner, the couple’s unpaid taxes from 2018 to 2021 reached approximately ₱7.1 billion, including individual income taxes, excise taxes on nine luxury vehicles, and documentary stamp taxes on several unrecorded or unpaid transactions.
The Commissioner emphasized that this is just the “tip of the iceberg” as the investigation into other Discaya companies continues, and more tax deficiencies are expected to be uncovered.
“No contractor or government official should escape accountability. Failure to pay taxes is a serious violation of the law, and we will ensure those involved are held responsible,” the Commissioner stated.
It was discovered that the couple did not divest from several construction companies they also owned because they failed to file documentary stamp tax returns and pay documentary stamp taxes to facilitate the transfer of shares.
“This means that not only did they fail to file the return and pay the corresponding taxes, they also failed to divest from any of these four companies as its beneficial owners,” according to the BIR chief.
The Discaya couple allegedly did not divest from St. Gerrard, St. Timothy, St. Matthew, and Alpha & Omega because there is no record “of any return or payment for such divestment, particularly that of documentary stamp taxes.”
“They never divested because they never paid the corresponding taxes necessary for such divestment,” according to the BIR.
It is worth noting that the Discayas’ assets have already been frozen due to their involvement in the flood control scam at the Department of Public Works and Highways.
