烟草在线据ABS-CBN广播报道编译　　烟草巨头菲莫福川烟草公司表示，如果国内税务局（BIR）派第三方对所有卷烟制造企业进行每周7天，每天24小时的检查，那么其竞争对手Mighty公司涉嫌逃税的情况就可以被迅速制止。

　　菲莫福川公司几个月以来一直在说，Mighty公司生产和销售了比其宣称的更多的卷烟，使其能够以低于菲莫公司的价格进行销售，并导致了数十亿比索的税收损失。

　　“如果有政治意愿这样做的话，那么下周就可以解决这个问题，”菲莫福川烟草公司的合伙人LT集团的总裁迈克尔·陈在该集团6月9日的股东大会上说。

　　陈说，虽然公司了解要调查过去的逃税事件需要时间，但按照公司的提议，却可以很快并且大大减少目前和未来的逃税情况。

　　陈说，财政部已责成国内税务局和海关局采取行动。海关已封锁了Mighty公司的一个仓库。

　　国内税务局专员金·埃纳雷斯表示，自去年以来，税务局已部署了检查人员对卷烟公司进行全天候的监控。

　　她说，国内税务局不能聘请第三方调查员，因为这将违反税法。

　　“国家税收法律规定，只有税务专员和官员，可以参与消费税的职能，并且进行监管，所以我们不能有第三方（调查员），”她说。

　　埃纳雷斯说，菲莫的指控有“很多问题”，并指出，税务机关将不会立案，除非它有足够的证据。

　　“我们的原则是，没有有力的证据，我们不会公布并且错误地指控别人。例如，当我在这里开始我的工作，人们告诉我去做的第一件事是什么？‘调查陈永栽和他的公司。’但我的立场是，你不能没有证据就去跟踪他们。我们必须进行评估，但我们不能告诉别人，但是要提起刑事案件，你必须有证据，”埃纳雷斯说。

　　“我不允许我的办公室成为一家公司用来与另一家公司进行竞争的工具。我唯一的职责是收取正确的税收，”她补充说。

Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Presses BIR to Stop Tax Evasion By Rival Tobacco Firm

　　Tobacco giant Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco said alleged tax evasion by its competitor Mighty Corp. can be stopped quickly if the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) puts third-party, 24/7 inspectors in all cigarette manufacturing companies.

　　Philip Morris has, for months, been saying that Mighty has been producing and selling more cigarettes than it declares, allowing it to undercut Philip Morris on prices and resulting in billions of pesos of lost tax revenue.

　　"It can be solved next week if there is political will to do so," said Michael Tan, president of LT Group, part owner of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco, at the LT Group stockholders meeting on Monday.

　　Tan said while the company understands past tax evasion takes time to investigate, current and future tax evasion can be quickly and vastly reduced with its proposal.

　　Tan said the Department of Finance has instructed the BIR and Bureau of Customs to take action. The Customs has padlocked a Mighty Corp. warehouse.

　　BIR Commissioner Kim Henares, meanwhile, said the tax agency has deployed 24/7 inspectors to monitor cigarette firms since last year.

　　She said the BIR cannot hire third-party inspectors as it will violate the tax code.

　　"The National Revenue Code said that it's only the commissioner and the officers who can be involved in excise tax functions and doing functions of surveillance, so we cannot have third party (inspectors)," she told ANC.

　　Henares said there "are a lot of questions" in the allegations of Philip Morris, noting that the tax agency will not file a case unless it has sufficient evidence.

　　"Our rule is that we do not go out and falsely accuse people without strong evidence. For example, when I started my position here, what's the first thing that people told me to do? 'Go after Lucio Tan and his company.' But my position is you cannot just go after them without evidence. We have assessments which we cannot tell people, but to file a criminal case, you have to have evidence," said Henares.

　　"I do not allow my office to be used as an instrument for another company to compete with another company. My only loyalty is that I should collect the correct tax," she added. Enditem