BIR chief defends action vs Pacquiao The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday said that under the Tax Code it can issue a warrant of garnishment (WG) without clearance from the court. BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto- Henares issued the statement following the uproar that followed the freezing of Manny Pacquiao’s bank deposits. Henares said that the Court of Tax Appeals can stop the BIR from enforcing the WG. Pacquiao had asked for a temporary restraining order from the CTA. Henares also welcomed the promise of the boxing icon’s promoter Bob Arum to assist him in getting the necessary documents from the Internal Revenue Service of the United States. Pacquiao’s failure to submit the documents triggered the BIR to file P2.2 billion civil suit against Pacquiao. The BIR wants the information to determine if Pacquiao remitted to the IRS taxes on his prize winnings for the years 2008 and 2009. She, however, rejected the suggestion of Arum for the BIR to get such records from the US tax service. She said it is not the duty of the BIR to get such information from the US tax service, unless a taxpayer is suspected of tax evasion. According to Ms. Henares, Pacquiao should be the one to secure the information because he is the one asking for a tax credit in his income tax returns for taxes paid in the US. Henares vehemently denied charges of harassing the solon in freezing his bank deposits, which so far amounted to only P1.1 million. “We are just implementing the law and we don’t consider the status of a person whether he is popular, rich or poor, applying the law equally for everybody,” she said. “If we treat Pacquiao differently we are violating our duty,” she added. She said the WG was issued after Pacquiao ignored the BIR request for him to submit his IRS records during the past several years.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:13:00 +0000