MISS UNIVERSE Pia Wurtzbach Taxman cometh LEO M. SABANGAN II
Unless a law is passed, the queen still has to pay her taxes after all.
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is still not exempt from paying taxes in the Philippines unless she gets the approval of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to Commissioner Kim Henares of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
“If you want to exempt somebody, you have to pass a law and a law requires the vote of the House and the Senate. And if you read the Constitution, a law exempting anyone requires three-fourths vote of both the House and the Senate,” Henares said in a press conference Thursday.
Last week, the House approved on committee level House Bill No. 6367, which exempts the Filipino beauty queen from paying taxes. A similar bill is pending in the Senate.
In any case, Wurtzbach would be paying only a small amount to the Philippines, as the bulk of her taxes will go to the United States, where she is currently earning her income, said Henares.
“If there will be any tax payment in the Philippines, it will probably be just 1 or 2 percent, or not even,” said the BIR head.
Salary, sponsorships
Among Wurtzbach’s winnings are a salary as Miss Universe during her yearlong reign, living allowance, a scholarship at the New York Film Academy, and a host of other sponsorships for travels, personal care and representation.
Wurtzbach, an actress before becoming a beauty queen, earlier said she never missed making her tax payments. But she said she could not be taxed for her $300,000 gem-encrusted crown as, technically, it does not belong to her.
Henares said the beauty queen only needed to declare her tax payment in the United States upon filing her income tax return in the Philippines.
“She just has to declare her income overseas along with her income here, because most probably she will have an income here. Then compute how much she has to pay and deduct what she has already paid overseas,” Henares said.
“You should have proof—papers, documents—that show you declared this and paid this tax overseas in a certified true copy that was consularized,” she said.
Social media
Jokes about Henares running after Wurtzbach were rife on social media after the latter’s Miss Universe victory, given the BIR chief’s known record of demanding prompt payment from taxpayers, including celebrities.
But it’s not as if Henares immediately goes after those with prize winnings that may be taxable, as social media posts and memes portrayed her to be.
“I’d like to clarify [the reports]. The truth is, when someone wins (a prize), it’s not like I immediately think about taxing him or her. By reputation, if the media ask me a question, I answer,” Henares said.
“Unfortunately, I have no control of what people think, what people feel. All I have control of is my own action. For as long as I’m doing what is right. You can never make everybody happy,” she added.
Henares has not seen the posts herself but said, “Perhaps, I’m happy to contribute to the conversation.”
“I don’t do social media. So as far as I’m concerned, it does not affect me because I don’t even know what’s going on. Everyone of us, more so when you’re in government, we should recognize that all our actions will not make everyone happy,” Henares told reporters.
She said her action was based on what was correct and what was right.
“Otherwise, we will be in a paralysis and that’s even worse. If I wait for everyone’s approval, then there is nothing I will be able to accomplish,” she said.