UPDATE (Nov 27). Manny Pacquiao, through Top Rank, sent a letter to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), stating the boxer has already filed his taxes at the Internal Revenue Service in the USA. Unfortunately, BIR commissioner Kim Henares says this isn’t enough saying that Pacquiao should show the actual IRS document, instead of just issuing a letter. On Headstart earlier this morning, Karen Davila tackled the issue. On the program, Henares said that the BIR isn’t filing any charges against Pacquiao as “nangongolekta lang kami. He filed a case against us. Her accompanying tweets read as follows:
BIR’s Kim Henares “Manny still has to file his income tax return, so we will know how much he paid & we will substract”
— Karen Davila (@Karen_DaviLa) November 27, 2013
BIR’s Kim Henares “Of the P2.2B Manny owes, maybe P1.1B is unpaid taxes from 2007-2009, P1.1B is interest” #ANCHeadstart
— Karen Davila (@Karen_DaviLa) November 27, 2013
BIR’s Kim Henares “yes, he will pay taxes to the US but he still has to report to us what he paid, he hasn’t” #ANCHeadstart
— Karen Davila (@Karen_DaviLa) November 27, 2013
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On Tuesday, Nov 26, news broke out that boxer-lawmaker Manny Pacquiao’s bank accounts had been frozen because he has been accused of tax evasion. Earlier reports alleged that the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) issued the freeze order, but the CTA denied issuing such an order. In fact, it was the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that ordered the freeze.
“Hindi ako makagalaw. Ano ba ang hanapbuhay ko? Hindi naman ako magnanakaw na may ibang source. Naapektuhan din tuloy ang ibang business namin, mga trabahante namin, mahirapan silang magsweldo,” Pacquiao revealed in a press briefing.
Later, in an ANC interview, Pacquiao revealed that he has been rendered helpless by the BIR’s move. “Totally wala. Pati yung sa account ng asawa ko, wala din. Lahat,” he said.
“Pacquiao’s tax case stems from the reported failure of his accountant to report in his income tax returns the millions of dollars-worth of taxes he paid in the U.S. in relation to his fight purses from 2008 to 2009,” reports Cathy Rose A. Garcia on ABS-CBNnews.com.
In those years, Pacquiao had had five fights in Las Vagas against Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto, David Diaz, Ricky Hatton, and Oscar dela Hoya. It is believed that he was earning top dollar for those fights.
Pacquiao said that he believed the case will be resolved soon, explaining that he had already paid taxes in the U.s. and was told by his lawyer that there was no “double taxation” to be implemented on his earnings.
Pacquiao also revealed that since his bank accounts had been frozen from the time Typhoon Yolanda struck, he had to borrow PHP1 million just so he could send help to Typhoon Yolanda victims.
Meanwhile, the BIR has yet to make a statement about this issue.
Photo from Pacquiao’s Twitter page
