Star Magic defends John Lloyd Cruz against tax evasion charges |
| by ‘With a report from Reyma Buan-Deveza, abs-cbnNEWS.com’ | May 07, 2010 4:06 PM | |
The Office of the Quezon City Prosecutor has recommended the prosecution of John Lloyd Cruz for violation of tax laws. In a resolution approved April 15, the prosecutor’s office said there is “sufficient grounds” to indict John Lloyd for violating Sections 5 and 14 of the Tax Code of 1997.
According to the resolution penned by 2nd Assistant City Prosecutor Rogelio Velasco, a subpoena was issued against John Lloyd on June 15, 2007 ordering him to appear before the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and submit his book of accounts and other accounting records. The actor was directed to appear before the BIR’s Chief of Legal Division on July 10, 2007.
The resolution noted, “Despite receipt of the said subpoena, the respondent failed to appear thereat on the date/time indicated and submit the desired documents. His failure to appear and bring the records as demanded by the subpoena consummated the offense charged.”
However, in a statement released by John Lloyd's management company, Star Magic, through its head of public relations Thess Gubi, they maintained that the actor did not violate any law. "Malinis ang financial record ni John Lloyd. Naniniwala kami na wala siyang utang. As far as I know, malinis ang record niya." She also said that Cruz’s camp has not received the subpoena.
Also, John Lloyd's legal counsel, Atty. Marc Perez, said the subpoena issued by the BIR 'is invalid and for which John Lloyd had no knowledge of.' The actor’s lawyer added, "This case had been previously dismissed by the prosecutor's office only to be surprisingly reversed when BIR filed its motion for reconsideration. We are confident this case will be dismissed."
John Lloyd was among the celebrities who had problems with the BIR. The tax agency also went after Judy Ann Santos, Regine Velasquez and Richard Gomez since the revival of the Run Against Tax Evaders (RATE) program.
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