The Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday filed a criminal case with the Department of Justice against Alice Guo for alleged tax evasion and failure to file Annual Income Tax Returns for taxable years 2019 to 2023, the Philippine News Agency reported.
The case involves an estimated income tax deficiency of more than PHP1.008 billion ($16.3 million), inclusive of surcharges and interest.
The Guo case is the largest of five criminal tax cases filed by the BIR, which together involve an aggregate estimated tax deficiency of more than PHP1.46 billion ($23.7 million).
The investigation was prompted by Guo’s testimony during a May 22nd, 2024 Senate hearing concerning a raid on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) compound in Bamban, Tarlac, during which she admitted to owning various real properties, vehicles, and interests in several corporations.
Subsequent investigation identified significant assets and financial transactions associated with Guo, including real properties, motor vehicles, a helicopter, bank transactions, and shares of stock. BIR records showed that Guo failed to file Annual Income Tax Returns for five consecutive years beginning in 2019, despite substantial documented expenditures during the period.
Using the expenditure method to reconstruct income, the bureau found the submitted documents insufficient to explain the magnitude of the transactions identified, concluding that Guo had undeclared income.
