Top taxpayers: Biscuit maker edges Pacman

MANILA, Philippines – The founder of popular Filipino biscuit brand Rebisco was last year’s top individual income taxpayer, dislodging Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao from the No. 1 spot, an annual list of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)’s top 500 taxpayers showed.

Jacinto Ng, now chairman of Asia United Bank Corp., made his debut on the list by paying the highest income tax amounting to P280.11 million.

Next in line was Manny Pacquiao, also Sarangani representative, with P210.31 million.

“We are required by law to list the top taxpayers. Actually, we should list all taxpayers, but that’s too many so we just list the income taxpayers,” BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said in a phone interview.

In the list uploaded on the BIR website, Mercury Drug Corp. president Vivian Que Azcona was the third top taxpayer with P153.55 million, followed by Palawan Gov. and local BMW distributor Jose Alvarez with P73.005 million.

Ng’s son Jacinto Jr. (P66.87 million) placed fifth, while President Aquino’s youngest sister, actress Kris Aquino (P54.53 million) was No. 6.

Completing the top 10 were developer Ronaldo Soliman (P53.48 million), Coca-Cola Philippines president William Schultz (P51.32 million), San Miguel Corp. chief executive officer Ramon Ang (P51.06 million) and Lauro Baja III, son and namesake of the former ambassador to the United Nations (P50.75 million).

The BIR annual list has become a source of controversy, particularly over questions on whether public personalities in the list have actually paid the right taxes. Henares said this should not be the case.

“This is just a list. This does not reflect tax compliance in any way,” the BIR chief pointed out.

According to the National Internal Revenue Code, final tax is imposed on passive income such as prizes, winnings, royalties and cash dividends. The rate of tax differs on the kind of income one generates.

For instance, prizes and other winnings are charged 20 percent final taxes, which are automatically deducted and are not included in income tax returns filed every year.

“This does not reflect the wealth of the person because it only depends on what you earn and does not include those which are charged with final taxes,” Henares explained.

Businessmen in this year’s list included San Miguel Corp. chairman emeritus Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. (11th, P50.46 million), Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. CEO Erramon Aboitiz (P39.31 million), tycoon Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (23rd, P37.46 million), Emperador Inc.’s Andrew Tan (36th, P27.77 million), Manila Electric Co. president and CEO Oscar Reyes (40th, P28.27 million), BDO Unibank Inc. president Nestor Tan (42nd, P27.61 million), father-and-son magnates Henry Sy Jr. (49th, P29.29 million) and Henry Sy Sr. (53rd, P25.68 million), GMA Network chairman Felipe Gozon (79th, P20.71 million) and Lucio Tan (129th, P16.21 million).

Other personalities in the list are actress Sharon Cuneta (13th, P49.12 million), actor John Lloyd Cruz (22nd, P37.70 million), Anne Curtis-Smith (32nd, P31.47 million), TV host Marvic Sotto (45th, P27 million), former Zamboanga del Norte congressman Romeo Jalosjos (78th, P20.73 million), Marian Rivera (98th, P19 million) and ABS-CBN chief content officer Ma. Rosario “Charo” Santos-Concio (101st, P18.76 million).