BIR: Pacquiao tax perks need no law
MANNY Pacquiao (left), during a weigh-in for a previous fight, will have no problems with top tax collector Kim Henares (right) if he follows procedures properly. AFP, RICHARD REYES
BACOLOD CITY—Top tax collector Kim Henares on Saturday said legislation is not needed to give boxing icon Manny Pacquiao tax privileges for his fight with top rival Floyd Mayweather Jr.
All that Pacquiao has to do is follow procedures that could exempt him from paying Philippine taxes, said Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III had said he is filing a bill to give tax exemption to Pacquiao for his fight with Mayweather in Las Vegas on May 2.
Experts expect the fight to be worth from $250 million to $400 million.
Henares, in an interview over radio station dyEZ here, said if Pacquio follows the right process he would not have to pay the Philippine government any tax for the fight in Las Vegas.
The United States imposes a 40-percent tax on earnings from the fight, while the Philippines collects 32 percent from the same.
If Pacquiao pays his tax in the United States, all he has to do is report it to the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) with required authenticated documents and he won’t be taxed in the Philippines, said Henares, head of the BIR.
She said if any tax exemption is sought for the Las Vegas fight, it should be made in the United States where Pacquiao has to pay 40 percent of his earnings, not in the Philippines.
As long as Pacquiao follows the BIR requirements, which he did not do in the past, he would have nothing to pay in the Philippines, said Henares.
Pacquiao had run into trouble with the BIR for alleged failure to pay taxes in the Philippines for a fight held in the United States.
The BIR had threatened the boxer with seizure of property until Pacquiao agreed to settle the tax problem.
Pacquiao’s fight with Mayweather on May 2 is being touted as the biggest ever in recent boxing history.
Revenue from the fight is seen to exceed previous records.
