Pacquiao asks BIR for time to present records

MANILA, Philippines - World boxing champion and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao appealed yesterday to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to give him more time to present his tax records after the agency filed contempt charges against him in a Koronadal court for failing to submit the required documents.

Pacquiao said there could have been some miscommunication or an honest error on the part of his staff and stressed he has no intention of violating any BIR regulation.

“I already sent a staff member to the BIR office. But if they (BIR officials) saw something wrong, I wish they would give us enough time to correct it,” Pacquiao told GMA-7.

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares earlier told The STAR that the world boxing champion is facing contempt charges and not tax evasion charges.

The BIR, through the agency’s regional director Rozil Lozares, issued a Letter of Authority to Pacquiao requiring him to submit documents to the agency regarding his earnings and corresponding tax payments.

“All our regional directors can issue a Letter of Authority. It’s a normal examination,” Henares said.

She said taxpayers, especially those with businesses, should be subject to a tax audit at least once a year.

The BIR’s Letter of Authority is an official document that empowers a revenue officer to examine and scrutinize a taxpayer’s books of accounts and other accounting records, in order to determine the taxpayer’s correct internal revenue tax liabilities.

Henares said the BIR has been asking Pacquiao to submit his tax records to the agency to check if there are deficiencies but he apparently snubbed the agency’s request for documents.

ABS-CBNNews.com said the BIR wants to investigate 33 tax records, including Pacquiao’s annual income tax return in earnings from his fights against Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.

The BIR also asked Pacquiao to disclose data on his product endorsements.