Philippine Internal Revenue Bureau frozen bank accounts of boxing hero Pacquiao for tax evasion case

Manny Pacquiao punches Brandon Rios in their welterweight boxing bout in Macau

Philippine boxing hero Pacquiao floored in tax fight

 

Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao said Tuesday authorities had frozen all his domestic bank accounts over allegations of unpaid taxes from lucrative fights in the United States, leaving him financially paralyzed.

 

"This is harassment," the former eight-division world champion said in an interview on ABS-CBN television, as he disclosed for the first time a freeze order issued by the Philippines' Bureau of Internal Revenue in recent months.

 

The shock announcement came just two days after Pacquiao, 34, resurrected his boxing career with a unanimous point's decision over American Brandon Rios in Macau.

 

The victory, which Pacquiao dedicated to the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan that claimed thousands of lives in the Philippines this month, added to his lustre among millions of ordinary Filipinos.

 

Pacquiao is now eyeing more lucrative fights in the United States. He is also pursuing a political career in the Philippines, where he is a second-term congressman with ambitions of eventually becoming president.

 

Pacquiao said the tax office took the action because it believed he had evaded paying 2.2 billion pesos ($50.2 million) in taxes on his fights in the United States in 2008 and 2009 when he was at the peak of his career and earning tens of millions of dollars.

 

He said he had already paid taxes on those earnings in the United States, which has a treaty with the Philippines that allows citizens of both countries to avoid double taxation.

 

However, he said the tax bureau had rejected the documents he provided to prove he had already paid the US Internal Revenue Service.

 

"I am not a criminal or a thief. I am not hiding anything. I will face my problems as they come," Pacquiao said.

 

"I have already paid my taxes in America. Had I not paid the correct taxes they (US authorities) would have come after me and I would not have been able to travel there."

 

Philippine taxman hits back

 

The Philippine tax bureau confirmed the local bank accounts of Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee had been frozen.

 

However tax commissioner Kim Henares denied any harassment, saying only two bank accounts containing a total of 1.1 million pesos were frozen.

 

"Don't tell me he only has 1.1 million pesos. Where is the rest of (his) money? I have no idea. It has not been garnished (seized)," she told AFP.

 

Only two domestic banks reported holding Pacquiao's accounts, Henares said.

 

She said Pacquiao had failed to submit the proper documents proving he paid taxes in the United States.

 

Tax officials gave Pacquiao two years to respond to their assessment but all he submitted was a letter from his US promoter Top Rank saying he had paid his taxes in the United States, according to Henares.

 

"This is a mere scrap of paper. Anyone can write that," she said.

 

Henares said she could not understand why the wealthy sports hero was bringing up the tax dispute now.

 

"Maybe he should hire better lawyers and accountants," she added.

 

The Pacquiaos have asked the Court of Tax Appeals to lift the bank freeze, but it has yet to rule on the couple's petition, according to court papers released to the media.

 

President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma brushed off suggestions Pacquiao was being singled out for political harassment.

 

"We are a government of laws, not of men," Coloma told reporters.

 

The government has been running a campaign against high-profile tax evaders, targeting movie stars as well as businessmen who flaunt their wealth through flashy sports cars.

 

Pacquiao said most of his cash was kept in the Philippine bank accounts. He did not say how much had been garnished.

 

He said the freeze order had left him without money to pay his staff, and forced him to borrow "not less than one million pesos" to fulfil pledges to help victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

 

At his peak Pacquiao was regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, becoming the only man to win world titles in eight weight divisions.

 

The former street kid who ran away from home to pursue a boxing career became one of the globe's wealthiest athletes.

 

But his career nosedived after suffering two losses last year, the second in a humiliating knockout to Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez that prompted questions over whether the ageing warrior should retire.

 

But even last year, Forbes magazine listed him as the 14th highest-paid athlete globally with an estimated $34 million in earnings.  AFP News

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Brandon Rios Crying, LA Pinoys dining story behind Pacquiao’s winning comeback- Typhoon Yolanda has gone

Brandon Rios crying on an interview after his hard defeat " I could not believe it, 5 months practice, just practice, practice, and practice..... (crying)  see the video link here

 

After the typhoon, Filipinos rally around Pacquiao's punches

 

Pinoy dealing with Typhoon Haiyan come together to watch national hero Manny Pacquiao fight. His victory is a morale-booster.

 

The ladies of the Filipino ministry of Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church discuss Typhoon Haiyan over a table strewn with grilled fish, ribs, sliced pork belly, chicken wings, chili and a massive platter of mixed rice and flour noodles called pancit.

 

"The typhoon hit here," says Pinky Santos, pointing to the map in gold thread on her blue polo shirt. "My family is here," she adds, moving her finger north.

 

For many Filipinos, it's been a somber month of sharing links to donation websites on social media and organizing aid trips to affected areas. More than 5,000 people have died in what some consider the most destructive typhoon to hit land, and Flor Ross, the night's cook, is still waiting to hear from her uncle in Tacloban City. Three of the children in the church group are considering joining aid missions.

 

It's hardly a time to celebrate. But it's Saturday, and Manny Pacquiao fights tonight. Filipino tradition demands a gathering.

 

Host Flor Ross takes her baby Mary Catherine, 2 months, from Agnes Ma, right, at a Manny Pacquiao party at Ross' Arcadia home. Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines, and his victory over Mexican American boxer Brandon Rios was a morale-booster for a country devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. (Liz O. Baylen, Los Angeles Times / November 23, 2013)

Even in Tacloban City, where the storm hit hardest, cable operators set up TV screens inside a sports stadium to broadcast the fight to survivors. At the Arcadia home of Tom and Flor Ross, the women drape Philippines flags and cook a feast that seems far too large until about 30 people show up. They start a betting pool, with the proceeds going to typhoon survivors.

 

Buy and sell online in the "Philippines Online Shopping Mall" (www.PilipinasMall.com )

 

Agnes Ma begins the dinner with a prayer.

 

"Let us pray. God is great. Thank you for the food and Tom and Flor and this beautiful house and for hosting the fight, and help the people who have been affected by the typhoon. Give them hope ... and a victory for Manny Pacquiao."

 

Everyone grabs paper plates sagging with the weight of grilled meats and rice, and the church group divides into two viewing parties: adults and children. Two television screens set up in separate rooms show the pre-fight broadcasts, and the household's allegiances becomes clear.

 

Brandon Rios, Pacquiao's opponent, is seen warming up, and many remark on how nervous and sweaty he looks. Then HBO shows the clip of Pacquiao toppling face-first to the canvas in his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, and there is a collective groan. Ma's son, Andrew, clad in a T-shirt from Pacquiao's gym, has to look away.

 

"Man, I really hate watching that," said Andrew, 23. "I cannot watch that."

 

Filipinos tend to take Pacquiao's victories and defeats personally, Andrew said. Last year, Mexican and Filipino friends of his gathered to watch the Marquez-Pacquiao fight. He and his Filipino friends left immediately after Marquez knocked out Pacquiao. A Mexican friend even broke up with a Filipino girlfriend that night.

 

Pacquiao appears on screen warming up, and Ma makes the bracelets on her hand jingle with her pointing. She leaves to find her Pacquiao jacket. Jessica Sanchez, a half-Filipino "American Idol" contestant, sings the U.S. and Filipino national anthems, and the women joke about her nails. Santos hums along. Finally, the announcer lays out the stakes for the fight: "When the dust settles, is it the end or rebirth of an era?"

 

That gets everyone riled up, and bellows of "Let's go!" and "C'mon, Manny!" fill the house.

 

When the first round begins, you can keep score by listening to Ma: staccato cries of "Ai! Ai! Ai!" and "Not in the corner, not in the corner!" when Pacquiao is getting hit, and an exultant "Ooh! Yesss, yes, do it, Manny!" when Pacquiao's punches are landing.

 

Both rooms explode when Pacquiao lands his first big combination. Rios has a habit of shaking his head and smirking at his opponents after they land a punch to show he is unhurt.

 

In the sixth round, Rios starts to bleed above the eye. In the seventh, announcers remark on how Pacquiao has begun to build momentum. The ninth and 10th rounds are tense. Plastic spoons freeze mid-scoop in bowls of guinataan, coconut milk soup. Plates heaped with cooling pork ribs are ignored.

 

Pacquiao is landing more punches and winning more rounds than his opponent, but it's becoming clear the fight won't be decided by a knockout. There is some dark muttering about the controversies surrounding recent judging decisions in boxing. The fight ends in the 12th round.

 

As they await the judge's decision, it is silent in the Ross home for the first time all night. The television shows Pacquiao kneeling in prayer in the corner of the ring.

 

Then both groups erupt in a hooting crescendo of delight. It's a unanimous decision for Pacquiao.

 

"He's back, yes! I can bring out my Pacquiao gear again," Andrew Ma says. "Though it would have been good to get a knockout, for the typhoon victims."

 

Agnes Ma heaves a sigh of relief.

 

"Thank God," she says. "Thank God he won again."

 

Wala lang share ko lang ang Kaibigan.Me  (www.Kaibigan.me)

 

The younger viewers take out their phones and make Instagram pictures of Pacquiao's victory speech. Everyone heads to the dining room to eat more. Their laughter is a little louder. They go for seconds on dessert. Ma and a few of the women break into Filipino Christmas carols, rolling with laughter. She counts the money they raised: $107. It's not much, but it's a start, she says.

 

"We're back, baby," Ma says. "Manny is always our Filipino hope." – LA Times

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