HANDLING PACQUIAO BIR CASE
MANILA, MARCH 29, 2012 (STANDARD) Written by Maricel Cruz - AN
AQUINO ally in the House of Representatives on Wednesday slammed Internal
Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares and her agency for their "arrogance" in
handling the tax case of boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao.
San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, a close friend of Pacquiao's, said
Internal Revenue's investigation of the boxing champion's alleged failure to
declare his income was "insensitive and a major distraction" to Pacquiao in his
preparation to fight American Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in
Las Vegas on June 9.
"It is just unfortunate that at this time that Pacman needs to promote his
upcoming fight, some government officials choose to feed media with pressers
that smear on his personality," Ejercito said.
"Is this how the government repays him with the victories he has brought to
our country, by harassing him in the public to pay his taxes?
"Manny is only asking for consideration that they [the government] listen to
his side of the story. Because, after all, he is also a public official."
Navotas City Rep. Tobias Tiangco, an independent, has filed House Resolution
2309 seeking a congressional probe on the "BIR's failure to observe due process"
in Pacquiao's case.
Tiangco's resolution also "denounce, in the strongest terms, the act of the
BIR in making the filing of such case public as if in an attempt to harass one
of its members and subject Rep. Manny Pacquiao to trial by publicity."
"If Congressman Pacquiao, who is already a member of the House of
Representatives and a respected icon, not only in the Philippines but all over
the world, can be deprived of due process and subjected to harassment tactics by
the BIR, much more ordinary citizens," Tiangco said.
House Deputy Minority Leader and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay demanded
that Henares be humble enough to apologize to Pacquiao for the agency's
misgivings and stop its arrogance.
"For someone of national stature like Pacquiao, the BIR should have accorded
him respect and a little consideration," Magsaysay said.
Tiangco's resolution demanded that Internal Revenue explain its procedures in
investigating taxpayers to determine whether there is a need to amend the
National Internal Revenue Code.
On March 1 Internal Revenue filed charges against Pacquiao for his alleged
failure to submit his tax records.
Pacquaio described the agency's action against him as harassment, saying it
all started when he refused to sign the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief
Justice Renato Corona. He vowed to finish the fight that the agency started.
Still, Yacap party-list Rep. Carol Jane Lopez, a close friend of Pacquaio's,
said she believed Pacquiao's scheduled fight in June would not be affected by
the case. With Christine F. Herrera
FROM PHILSTAR
BIR chief dares Pacquiao to submit documents By
Cheryl Arcibal Home Updated March 28, 2012 02:24 PM 0 comment to this post
[PHOTO - BIR CHIEF KIM HENARES]
MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Wednesday dared
boxing champ Manny Pacquiao to submit all the documents relating to his
winnings, endorsements and TV appearances to prove that he has nothing to hide
about his income.
In a radio interview, Commissioner Kim Henares of the BIR said she does not
understand why Pacquiao, who sits in Congress as representative of Sarangani
Province, is finding it difficult to comply with a BIR directive to submit all
these documents when he should have a copy of these papers.
"These contracts, income tax returns should be documented. He should have a
copy of all of these and we are just asking him to submit all these papers,"
Henares said.
Henares also said she sees no reason to fire Rozil Lazores, BIR Region 12
director, despite Pacquiao's statement that Lazores was harassing him for filing
a case of violating Section 266 of the National Internal Revenue Code or the
failure or refusal to submit documents required by the BIR.
"The regional director is just doing his job and complying with the BIR
processes. We gave many chances to him (Pacquiao) to submit these documents,"
Henares said.
Although the process of checking and assessing tax liability may seem
tedious, Henares said it is necessary to ensure that the BIR is collecting the
correct amount of taxes.
"If we don't do this, the consequence would be arbitrary assessment of tax
deficiency. We'll just say 'we read in the newspapers that you earned this much'
and then we will quote your tax deficiency. Taxpayers will have no chance of
showing their documents. I think more taxpayers will complain if we do this,"
Henares said.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
