Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that failure to file an income tax return (ITR) was not a violation under the 1977 National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) as failure to file tax returns has become a punishable offense only in 1992.
Dominguez issued this clarification Friday, Feb. 11, as the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Former First Division dismissed a case filed against presidential aspirant former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for failure to file his ITR.
According to Dominguez, the 1977 NIRC was the applicable Tax Code from 1983 to 1985, the taxable years when Marcos failed to file his IRT.
DOF chief cited the 1977 provision that stated “Provided, however, that an individual with compensation income taxable under Section 21 (a) of this Code and where the tax withheld from such compensation income is final shall be exempt from the penalty for failure to pay the tax on such compensation income and to file a return thereon at the designated period.”
Dominguez, who held two Cabinet positions during the administration of former President Corazon Aquino, said “this provision was removed only in 1992.”
On Thursday, Feb. 10, the COMELEC Former First Division dismissed the disqualification case filed against Marcos. A portion of the COMELEC ruling stating that “the failure to file tax returns is not inherently wrong in the absence of a law punishing it” trended on social media.
Dominguez stressed that the COMELEC ruling should be not be taken out of context. He then appealed to media to “please help educate the public” about proper tax compliance.