The Makati City Local Government Unit has padlocked the main headquarters of telco giant PLDT-Smart Communications Inc. for alleged unpaid billions of pesos worth of unpaid taxes without business permit over the last four years.
The LGU said that the company “failed to settle or obtain any relief from the courts over its franchise tax deficiency worth over P3.2 billion covering the period January 2012 to December 2015.”
“When businesses in Makati choose to operate without a valid business permit, they are essentially operating outside the law,” City Administrator Claro Certeza said.
“This is unacceptable, and I want to make it clear that we will not tolerate this kind of behavior, whether you are a big or small company. You are hereby commanded to cease and desist from further operating your business establishment until such time compliance with the said ordinance is made,” Certeza added.
The case started from an examination launched by the Office of the City Treasurer in 2016, which concluded that Smart owed the city government over P3.2 billion in franchise tax over the four-year period.
Certeza said the city had requested Smart to submit a breakdown of revenues and business taxes paid in all branches nationwide, but the telecommunications giant refused to present the documents.
Smart however questioned the audit and challenged the motion of Makati City through the Court of Tax Appeals.
Smart has yet to issue an official statement but it previously said that the city has no jurisdiction to audit the company’s financial statements and operations in other branches nationwide, adding that it had submitted all records related to its operations within the city and paid the necessary taxes.
