Tax Evasion case of Judy Ann Santos

The Supreme Court upholds tax evasion case ruling vs. Judy Ann Santos. The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of Judy Ann Santos to reverse and set aside a resolution of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) which had ordered her arraignment for tax evasion.

In a 27-page decision penned by Justice Minita V. Chico-Nazario, the Court's Third Division said, Santos cannot file a petition to appeal the resolution of the CTA, as it was not appealable.

"The Resolution is interlocutory and, thus, unappealable. Even if her Petition for Review is to be treated as a petition for certiorari, it is dismissible for lack of merit," the High Court said in a statement posted on its website.

Santos had earlier asked the Supreme Court to reverse the June 19, 2006 en banc resolution of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

The CTA, in that resolution, had denied Santos’ motion for extension of time to file petition for review to appeal the resolutions dated February 23, 2006 and May 11, 2006 of the CTA First Division, which had denied her motion to quash the information against her for violation of section 255, in relation to sections 254 and 248(B) of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended, and her subsequent motion for reconsideration, respectively.

The SC clarified that the CTA resolution did not err in denying Santos’ motion for extension of time to file petition for review.

The Court said that the CTA resolution directly addressed the motions raised by Santos, and nothing in the resolution could prove that her motions were rendered unfairly.

Santos, popularly called as Juday, was charged with P6.76-million tax evasion suit by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for failing to declare her real income worth millions in 2002.

The BIR said that Santos only stated about P8 million in earnings in 2002, despite earning almost P16.3 million in talents fees from her projects in ABS-CBN Channel 2, movie companies Viva Productions, Star Cinema and her commercial endorsements.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said, they found probable cause to charge Santos after determining that she underdeclared her 2002 income allegedly by 104 percent.

Santos was charged before the CTA in 2005.

That same year, the CTA First Division issued an arrest warrant against Santos prompting the latter to file a motion to quash the information.

On February 23, 2006, the CTA First Division denied her motion and scheduled her arraignment. Santos filed a motion for reconsideration which the CTA also denied on May 11, 2006.

Under the law, failure to report income amount is an enough ground to make the taxpayer liable for tax evasion charges. The tax evasion suit holds a jail term of two to four years with a fine ranging from P30,000 to P100,000.