BIR: Only 25 of 40 richest Pinoys on list of top taxpayers

MANILA, Philippines - These businessmen may be the country's richest, but some of them are not among the top taxpayers.

In its latest infographic for the Tax Watch campaign, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) revealed that only 25 out of the 40 richest Filipinos identified by Forbes are on the agency's list of top individual taxpayers for 2012.

Among the 15 businessmen who were not top taxpayers was President Aquino's uncle, Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., who was listed by Forbes as the 10th richest Filipino in 2012.

Also missing from the list of top taxpayers were Ayala Corp.'s Iñigo and Mercedes Zobel, who were listed by Forbes as 14th richest.

The BIR infographic also revealed that shopping mall tycoon Henry Sy, Sr., who is still the country's richest person this year according to Forbes, only ranked as the 74th top taxpayer.

Sy and his family paid a total of regular income taxes worth P93.75 million.

In contrast, Mercury Drug's Vivian Que Azcona and her family was the BIR's top individual taxpayer for 2012.

Listed by Forbes as the 20th richest in the Philippines in 2012, Azcona and her family paid a total of P131.43 million in taxes.

Here is the list from the BIR: