MANILA, Philippines – Boxing promoter Bob Arum insisted that his prized fighter Manny Pacquiao has already fulfilled his tax obligations in the United States, contrary to what has been claimed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Arum said his outfit, Top Rank Inc., has already supplied every document the BIR needed to prove that the boxer has nothing or very little to settle with the local internal revenue service.
Top Rank is in charge of processing Pacquiao’s tax obligations with the US Internal Revenue Service.
“That stuff with the Philippines taxes is ridiculous. We've supplied them with all of our records showing that we've deducted and withheld 30% of Manny's purses and remitted it to the IRS. We have receipts from the IRS, everything,” Arum said in USA Today.
“Manny owes no tax or very little tax in the Philippines because he paid the taxes on his income that doesn't come from the United States. The U.S. and Philippines have a treaty where its people can't be double-taxed,” he added.
Arum blames Pacquiao’s tax woes to local politics.
“I wanna ask the BIR ...how many times have they asked for certification from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)? Probably slim and far between. So what they're doing to Manny is absolutely outrageous and it's politics at its worst,” the promoter said in a separate interview with ABS-CBN North America’s Bev Llorente.
Arum, however, could not defend Pacquiao’s spending habits. In a separate article, the promoter said the boxer is being too generous with his money.
Arum hinted that the Filipino fighter might find himself in dire straits if he doesn’t to handle his riches well.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
