Among those charged were Maria Ressa, Rappler Holdings president and businessman and technology investor James Bitanga, treasurer. Thus, Rappler Holdings is subject to income tax and VAT, being a dealer in securities. However, the annual ITR and VAT returns for 2015, according to the BIR, did not reflect income tax and VAT payments for the PDR sale. In the Rappler story on the BIR complaint, Ressa called the latest charges “ludicrous,” pointing out that the BIR itself had named Rappler one of its top 500 taxpayers. Rappler Holdings issued over seven million PDRs covering shares of Rappler Inc. to Omidyar Network for a $1-million investment.

Source: Manila Times March 08, 2018 16:07 UTC