Manny Pacquiao’s legal woes aren’t going anywhere. In fact, if new reports are true – the situation might be getting progressively worse for the Filipino champion.
Earlier this year, news came out that Pacquiao had been asked by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to present some specific information in relation to the amount he paid in taxes. After allegedly asking for this information on numerous occasions to no avail, the government took drastic measures. More specifically, it brought formal charges against the boxing great for his purported refusal to cooperate with the BIR’s inquiry.
A few weeks ago, Pacquiao came out and said that this was nothing more than a harassment campaign by the BIR. He insisted that he had done zero wrong, and that this was just a bunch if misinformation being needlessly spread in an effort that he didn’t seem to find much merit in. At the same time, he refused to actually confirm or deny that he had refused to cooperate with the BIR.
In a new article, ABS-CBN indicates that perhaps the BIR had good reason to question the Filipino champion. Via the report:
Pacquiao paid P9,190,691 in taxes in 2010, making him only the 135th top individual taxpayer in the country.
However, according to Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) data, Pacquiao's taxable income for 2010 was P504.5 million -- more than twice the taxable income of the top taxpayer, businessman Vicente Lao, who had a taxable income of P235 million.
Now, there may be a perfectly good explanation for why Pacquiao paid such a small percentage of taxes compared to his earnings. For all we know, he had some slick accountants finding all sorts of legal loopholes that he could utilize. But the reason we don’t know the facts of this case, and the reason that the BIR doesn’t know the facts of this case, is because (at least according to them) the champ isn’t making those facts known.
This much is for certain: cover-ups are always far greater media magnets than the original crimes would have been. You can almost visualize the reporters covering this story brushing their caffeine addictions aside and getting ready for the long haul.
Regardless of what ultimately ends up coming of all this, folks will be watching it closely from start to finish.
[Note: Make sure to check out Rope-A-Dope Radio every week as they interview Bob Arum, Alex Ariza and all the other hottest names in boxing.]
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