Senator Manny Pacquiao wants an end to the litigation of the complaint he filed against the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in connection with the P2.2 billion tax that the latter wants to collect from him.
Pacquiao on Wednesday confirmed that he is open to the possibility of settling his tax problem with the BIR and negotiations are ongoing.
“I have always been open to the possibility of amicably settling the tax assessments of the BIR which in my view are without basis,” Pacquiao said in a statement relayed by his media relations officer Aquiles Zonio to The Manila Times.
“It is my desire to seek an end to the pending litigation because, as a senator, I do not want to maintain a case against the government,” he added. “I was only forced to file a case in order to defend myself from the actions of the BIR which I believe were violative of my rights under the law.”
“I have the utmost trust and respect for Commissioner Caesar Dulay. My only request from the lawyers of both parties is that the discussions be based on the evidence on hand and not on mere perceptions,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao’s business manager Enrico Pineda, who serves as a congressman representing 1-Pacman partylist, said they expect a positive response from the BIR.
“I’m hoping this issue (tax evasion) will be settled the soonest because everybody knows that Pacquiao is not a tax evader,” Pineda, also the team manager of Mahindra in the Philippine Basketball Association, said.
“He was just singled out by the past administration. I’m hoping the issue will end,” he added.
The BIR filed a P 2.2 billion tax liability case against Pacquiao for not allegedly paying correct taxes in 2008 and 2009. But Pacquiao questioned the tax assessment and in 2013 filed a complaint against the BIR at the Court of Tax Appeals.
