Manny Pacquiao’s bank accounts have been frozen by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the boxing champ cannot even withdraw a single centavo as revealed in the press conference he hosted on Tuesday.
Pacquiao got back to the Philippines on Monday after his victory against Brandon Rios in Macau the day before.
He was, however, surprised to know that his accounts have been garnished because of a P2.2 billion tax case. The BIR accuses him of not declaring the right amount of income he had in 2008 and 2009.
The Saranggani representative, however, said they are claiming that he earned more than what he actually did.
The garnishment of his accounts will affect some 300 scholars and around 1,000 employees. But he said he will help the Yolanda victims even if he has to borrow money.
According to Pacquiao, he didn’t receive any letter or warning before they froze his accounts.
“Bago ma-garnish, di ako naka-receive kahit isang sulat o warning,” he said.
It was, however, denied by BIR chief Kim Henares, saying that the bureau gave Pacquiao two years to show all his earnings and what he paid in the U.S.
BIR needs a copy of the document from the US’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that indicates Pacquiao indeed paid his taxes on his earnings in America. BIR, however, only got a letter from Top Rank attesting that taxes had been paid on Pacquiao’s earnings.
They don’t need a letter, though. They need proof.
Pacquiao said he had already submitted copies of such documents but the BIR allegedly wants him to provide the original documents.
“America’s IRS does not give originals, only copies. Saan ako lulugar?” said the boxer.
But with regards to Pacquiao’s being surprised with the garnishment, Henares said it shouldn’t have surprised him because he knew it all along. He even filed a case at the Court of Tax Appeals last October to stop the BIR from proceeding with the garnishment.
Also, Henares said during a phone interview with TV Patrol that they are only able to garnish two bank accounts that has a combined total of P1.1 million.
If ever that amount revealed by the two banks is true, it is just a very small portion of the Pacquiao wealth so there’s no reason why he won’t have any money to support his scholars or pay the salary of his employees.
For more television, movie, and music updates, like/follow The Ultimate Fan on Facebook and Twitter.